


Dream Run!

by riipple



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Crying, Falling In Love, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Character Death, Strangers to Lovers, Temporary Character Death, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26298787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riipple/pseuds/riipple
Summary: Lifetime after lifetime, Chenle won't stop loving Jisung, and he knows Jisung would do the same.(Or- The mess that is a Chenji reincarnation AU)
Relationships: Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 8
Kudos: 74





	Dream Run!

**Author's Note:**

> Dream Run! (with an exclamation mark) is a way too enthusiastic name for a reincarnation au, just saying 
> 
> since this IS a reincarnation au there WILL be death, but it's temporary and not too graphic, don't worry!
> 
> also- a disclaimer: some of the places are purely fictional (if they're a real place...... I did not do any research) 
> 
> (18.9.20 edit: changed the summary)  
> (23.9.20 edit: fixed some typos)

Chenle peeks out from an oak tree, curious eyes observing the flower field. It was the flower field near his house, the one filled with those pretty flowers that smelt really good. It was his favourite place to go and play, he loved running around in the flowers. But he's never seen anyone else there, so why was there a boy in the middle of his field? 

He scrambles out from his spot behind the oak tree and slowly approaches the boy. The boy, who was crouched down, plucking leaves and putting them into a wicker basket.

"Hello!" Chenle said. The boy startles. 

"H-hi?" He says. "Who are you?"

Chenle giggled, "I'm Zhong Chenle!" 

"Jisung, Park Jisung," The boy— no, _Jisung_ replied. 

Chenle flashes a smile, like how his mother did when she met new people. She said smiling would help him make friends, and he really wanted to be Jisung's friend. 

"What are you doing?" He inquired, crouching down beside Jisung, looking at the basket filled with leaves.

"My mom told me to help her pick herbs, she's an apothecary." Jisung said softly. Chenle's mouth dropped into an 'o' shape, and after contemplating for a while,

"I'll help!" Chenle exclaimed, grabbing a fistful of leaves and ripped them from the flowers. 

"N-no! You can't do it like that!" Jisung said, distressed.

-

From then on, every time Jisung went down to the field to pick herbs, Chenle would always be there to help him. Sometimes they'd sit in the fields, and talk about their daily happenings, bantering and laughing. Sometimes they'd run around the fields, frolicking around. Jisung would pick colourful flowers and weave them into a pretty crown for Chenle to wear. 

"You look like a prince!" Jisung said, every time.They'd spend hours upon hours in that field, spending time with each other. They were truly happy.

-

Then, out of a sudden, Jisung stopped coming to the field. At first, Chenle brushed it off, thinking that he'd come back the next day. But the next day came. And the next. Jisung didn't come. Chenle was starting to worry. Was he alright? What had happened to him? 

Turned out, Jisung was sick. He was coughing every now and then, getting worse every second. He was also sweating profusely, his whole body drenched in sweat. 

Every day, Chenle would sit beside the bedridden Jisung, accompanying him as his condition slowly got worse. Even Jisung's mother was unable to help much to ease his conditions. 

"..." Jisung mumbled. Chenle pricks up his ears, listening.

"It hurts," He heaves out. Chenle's heart clenches at Jisung's pitiful state.

"It'll be alright, I promise," Chenle gingerly places a hand on Jisung's, and softly hums a lullaby.

-

In Summer, with the increasing temperature, Jisung succumbs to his illness. Chenle cries like he's never done before at the funeral. The promise was an empty one, but he still held on hope. 

**↺**

"Chenle! Be sure to come back before dinner! You'll have to help out with the store!" Chenle's mother shouted at his retreating figure. 

"Alright, Ma!" Chenle shouts back, as he runs towards the Plaza.

He reaches it just in time to hear the first few notes of music start. It was the annual summer festival, held in the middle of the town. Chenle loved it. 

He immediately spotted his Jisung in the middle of the crowd. That's one of the times that he's thankful that Jisung was tall. He squirms his way through the crowd to reach Jisung, who was dancing. 

He slips into the space beside his best friend, starting to dance as well. He laughs when Jisung spots him.

"Don't you have to help out at your mom's shop?" Jisung asked, jumping lightly and tapping his legs together, following the music.

"She let me off until dinner, what about _you_?" Chenle spun around. 

"My dad hired someone new, I don't need to help out anymore!" Jisung said.

"Woah! Lucky you," Chenle flashed a blinding smile at Jisung. 

-

The way they met was simple, unassuming, but bloomed into a colourful friendship. A rumour went around that a merchant family was moving in soon. That roused the people's attention; they haven't had any new visitors in a while. 

Jisung's father told him to offer some pastries to the new neighbors next door. He did. He's greeted by Chenle, with his blinding smile and clear laughter. They became fast friends.

-

"Chenle, we have to tell you something." Chenle's parents came into his room one night, when he was reading. 

"What's wrong?" He asks worriedly.

"We'll be moving to Brinestone next week." His father says. Chenle's eyes widened. Moving… that would mean that he wouldn't be able to see Jisung again.

"Why?" His voice trembles.

"We've been stagnating on sales these past months, we'll be able to do better in Brinestone—" 

Chenle doesn't want to listen to the rest of the sentence.

-

He's running to Jisung's house, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. He knocks on the door, waiting for it to open. When it does, it's not Jisung that opens it, it's Jisung's Mother. 

"O-oh my! Are you alright, dear?" He says. Chenle sniffled a little.

"Can I talk to Jisung?" He asked. Jisung's mother invited him into the house.

"He's in his room." Jisung's mother said, concern clouding her eyes. Chenle muttered a 'thanks' and shuffled inside.

"Come in!" He heard Jisung say a few moments after knocking on the bedroom door.

Chenle pushed the door open with a _click_. 

"Chenle? Why are you crying?' Jisung said, alarmed, as he scrambled from his bed to get to Chenle.

Chenle felt his cheeks dampen. He didn't know he was already crying. He sniffled, trying to hold it in.

"I'm moving to Brinestone," He says, head hanging.

"Brine-" Jisung exclaims, "Brinestone?" Chenle nods.

"Isn't that up North? Deep into the mainland?" 

"...Yeah." Chenle said. Jisung rubs Chenle's back slowly.

"When?" He asks. Chenle hesitates.

"Next week." 

"Oh." Jisung thinks for a while, "Then, I won't be able to see you again, right?" He chuckled, words bittersweet. He perks up. "We'll spend our last week together having fun, alright?" 

The corners of Chenle's mouth start to tilt up. 

-

For the next week, they're glued to the hip. Doing everything together. They're reminded of their childhoods, splashing in clear streams and catching butterflies in flower fields. The week passes quickly, with joy in every word they've spoken, and face hurting with how much they've smiled.

"I'll miss you," Chenle says as he pulls Jisung into a hug. 

"Mhm," Jisung mumbled as he hugged Chenle tighter. Chenle pats him on the back.

"...I'll get going now," He says as he looks back to the horse-drawn carriage carrying their things.

"Wait!" Jisung says suddenly, "I want to give you this." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a shiny amber necklace. He pulls it over Chenle's head, the necklace resting on his neck.

Chenle smiles, and hugs Jisung one last time, before boarding the carriage.

"Have a safe trip!" Jisung shouted as the carriage started moving. Chenle pokes his head out of the window, to see Jisung one last time.

**↺**

  
Chenle wakes up to the smell of the sea. He's been having weird dreams lately, about a boy. Sometimes he's younger, in a flower field, sometimes he's taller, dancing amongst a crowd. The boy in his dreams looks a little different each time, but he's sure it's the same boy. He shakes his head and brushes them off as just fantasy. 

He gets up, wooden floorboards creaking under his feet. Walking up to the deck, he's jostled by the crew scrambling about. He's confused for a moment, then he remembers. They were supposed to dock at a port soon. 

He hoists himself into the crow's nest, dismissing the current lookout, and takes over the job.

"I can take over now, Jiah. You can go rest." He tells her.

Jiah pats his shoulder, and smiles, "Thanks," She stifles a yawn, "I'll go to sleep now, if Captain asks where I am, you'll know where to find me, aight?" 

Chenle nods, and Jiah disappears below the crow's nest. 

Chenle turns around, leaning on the waist-high walls of the structure. He gazes at the vast sea, the salty breeze tousling his hair. He spots the clear outline of an island near the horizon.

So that's where they're going.

He's almost familiar with Dokcheon, the bustling town famous for its trading port. Merchants and Traders alike sail all across the globe to trade there. 

His Captain's from Dokcheon. It was the first place Chenle sailed to when he joined the crew. 

-

"Land ahead! We're docking soon, get the ropes!" He hears his Captain shout. He climbs down from the crow's nest onto the deck. Without being told what to do, he goes over to the crates and prepares to unload them from the ship. 

Leaning onto the side of the ship, he takes in the view of the port. He still remembers the creaking wooden floorboards of the dock. 

"Heave ho!" The Captain shouts, and the crew starts hauling the ropes, while some of them drop anchor. 

Once the ship was docked, Chenle and a few others began to unload the crates, with some dockers boarding the ship, helping them unload. 

-

Chenle stretches after he unloads the final crate. He watches the crew walking down the gangway, now allowed free time to roam the town as the Captain busied himself with managing the trades.

He looks around, and spots a boy staring at him. The boy blinks. Chenle blinks back. The boy looks really familiar. He's suddenly reminded of those strange dreams he had. 

The boy moves, hopping down from the barrels he was sitting on and approaches Chenle. 

"...Chenle?" The boy says tentatively.

Chenle's eyes widened. "How do you know my name?" Then he feels a tugging feeling at the back of his mind. "Wait, by any chance, is your name Jisung?" 

"Yeah. Did you have a dream?" Jisung asks. 

Chenle's eyebrows shoot up. Perhaps this really is the boy from his dreams. He nods his head vigorously.

-

"So, right. What if, those 'dreams' we're having, they're our past lives?" Jisung suggested. They're sitting on the pier, watching the waves, discussing.

Chenle scoffed, "Are you crazy? That's impossible!" He swings his legs.

"No! What if they're memories of our past lives? What if we're fated to meet?" Jisung insisted, hands gesturing wildly.

Chenle's face scrunches up, his lips form a pout. "But how will we know if whatever you're suggesting is real?"

"Then, in the next life, we'll find each other." Jisung angles his head to look into Chenle's eyes. His eyes shine.

Chenle doesn't believe in fate, but he's willing to try. 

-

Chenle boards the ship, ready to embark on another journey. He shoots Jisung a wave, assuring him that he'll come back next time. They sail away from the port, Jisung's lanky figure slowly becoming smaller and smaller.

-

The ship's right in the middle of a storm. Giant waves are crashing over the ship, drenching the crew in salty water. It rocks uncontrollably on the rocky waves, streaks of thunder threatening to blast the ship in half. They're trying to handle the situation, but some of the crew are knocked unconscious by the waves.

Then, suddenly blinding light strikes, and a loud creaking sound ripped across the air. Chenle feels himself sliding down the ship. Something knocks his head, and pain flashes through his head. He plops into the water, slowly sinking.

Consciousness fading, bubbles of air rising to the top.

He really hopes that he'll see Jisung soon.

**↺**

Chenle doesn't understand _why_ there's a century-long war going on between the Witches and Vampires.

He's pretty sure those superstitions about the witches were from the Elders' deranged minds. They're old enough.

Chenle, of course, doesn't voice this out, because if you were to, the grandmasters would kick him out of Redwood. 

He's having second thoughts about keeping his mouth shut, though, as he walks down the hallway of Redwood to his shooting class.

Don't get him wrong, he's a great marksman and he loves shooting, but if he has to listen to Master Kim ramble on about the proper way of holding a gun one more time, he'll shoot himself instead.

He puts up with it, the only thing on his mind was to graduate from Redwood. Then he'd be able to find Jisung. If he's even in this life. He's still wondering if all that was just a fever dream.

-

He's in the library when he hears hurried footsteps walking down the hall. His ears perk up, curiosity piqued. He closes his book and walks to the entrance of the library.

He sees many scrambling off towards the direction of the great hall, all carrying bayonets. Chenle's eyes widened in both realisation and shock. His growing suspicion is only confirmed when he hears the Headmaster's loud voice from their enchanted speakers. 

"All students! Code Red! This is not a drill! I repeat, CODE RED!" 

Dread fills Chenle's guts. Code Red could only mean one thing, that the Battle was coming. 

The Battle, the sole reason why Redwood was even founded, the battle to end the war between the Witches and Vampires.

Chenle hurriedly runs off to the weaponry, where thousand others like him were also at. He grabs his bayonet, deciding to also strap a few knives on him as well.

The weaponry is almost silent, only the noise of occasional clunking was heard. It was unsettling, Chenle vividly remembers chatting with his friends here while they were cleaning up after their classes. 

" _Maxime vivimus_ " he mutters under his breath. 'We live for this very moment', the first thing they're taught at Redwood. He says it not only for himself, but for the others as well. A motivation.

-

Like they all say, war is messy. There's shouts everywhere, gunshots being fired, spells being cast, bodies falling to the ground. Chenle barely avoids being impaled by a spell, and shoots back. He almost trips on a body, but he continues running. 

He sees various bodies scattered everywhere, some witches, some vampires. He sees a few faces he recognises, and he feels bile rise up his throat. Some of them were his friends, others his classmates. He ignores this. He has to keep fighting. 

_Shoot, stab, bite_. It's all he does. It's all he's ever been taught as a Vampire.

He loses track of all coherent thoughts in the chaos, only repeating the routine of violence. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Chenle sees a telltale sign of a spell being cast. He whips his body around, facing the witch. Bright blue light blocks his vision, and he can't move. An immobility spell. He tries to move, but to no avail. He glares at his attacker, but he stops abruptly, because,

It's Park Jisung.

 _The_ Jisung, _his_ Jisung, right in the flesh. He's holding a wand, the crest of Blue Moon Academy smack dab on his chest. It seems that Jisung also recognises him, because his face is filled with shock. He opens his mouth to say something, but his vision shifts to something— someone behind Chenle. 

"No!" Is all Chenle hears, before a beam shoots right straight through his heart, and it all goes black.

**↺**

"Prince Chenle! Hold on! You need to put on your crown!" Chenle hears Jisung shout from behind him as he runs outside of his bedroom.

Chenle shrieks back, a garbled noise, daring Jisung to run after him, crown be damned. He hates those heavy things. 

He hears Jisung's footsteps chase after him and he laughs, the boisterous melody echoing through the hallway. After the previous life, he thinks, this life is pretty good. 

Stopping in his tracks, He feels the impact of Jisung colliding into him, and promptly falls onto the floor, cackling. 

"Chenle! You can't just run away when you don't want to wear the crown!" Jisung says, exasperated. Chenle sticks his tongue out at Jisung. 

"You're so childish! I'll tell mom!" Jisung exclaims. At this, Chenle steels himself. If Jisung tells Head Lady Park about him, he's going to get a scolding. 

"Come on! You won't! Please don't tell Head Lady Park oh my gosh, I don't want to get a scolding from her, not again!" He rambles. 

"Yeah! So get back into your room and wear the damn crown!" Jisung says, pretending to be stern. 

"Okay, but if you tell Head Lady Park, I'll tell her about all the times _you_ snuck into the kitchen!" Chenle retaliates. Jisung's demeanor melts immediately.

"Oh no, please don't!" 

Well, they both share a tremendous amount of fear and respect for Head Lady Park.

-

In this lifetime, they're lucky. Chenle is born into the royal family, as the second prince of a nation. Jisung, on the other hand, is born as the son of the Head Lady. 

They're immediately friends at a young age, since Chenle's mother, the late queen, passed away while giving birth to Chenle, resulting in the Head Lady to take care of him. Now Jisung is Chenle's manservant.

If you asked any of the staff in the castle, who Chenle and Jisung are, they'll tell you many tales and anecdotes of the things they got up to. And of course, they all have a soft spot for the inseparable duo.

At nights, Jisung would stay in Chenle's bedroom, way after his shift ended. They'd talk about the happenings of the kingdom, and Chenle would sprawl over Jisung's lap, lamenting about all the classes he had to take. 

Sometimes, they'd sneak into the royal kitchen to sneak some cakes and cookies back to the room. Chenle would bring back some books from the library to read to Jisung. His voice, like a lullaby, would make Jisung sleepy.

On some of the nights where they were more energetic, they would sneak out to the town and explore every nook and cranny of it. 

-

It's during Winter, just after Chenle's 18th birthday, when they first hear of a rural village succumbing to an incurable sickness. The nearby villages have also caught it, and it's sending the whole kingdom into a pandemonium. They send soldiers to scout out the situation, and the medics are at their feet, scrambling about to find a cure for this disease. It's a mess, spreading farther than light. Their medicine stocks are depleting rapidly, and it's not long until the sickness reaches the doors of the palace. 

Chenle decides to visit the villages in place of the King and the Crown Prince. To see the sick, to comfort them, teach them how to protect themselves. He gathers a few guards and medics to accompany him. They're about to leave the Palace gates when Jisung runs up to him from behind.

"But what if you contract the disease?" Jisung asks, grabbing Chenle's wrist to stop him. 

Chenle sighs, "If I don't go, who else? The King is needed to rule, and the Crown Prince is next in line, they're important people!" 

"So you're saying you're not important?" Jisung's eyes are shaking, despair apparent on his face.

Chenle stares at Jisung, expression blank, but his eyes show sorrow. He holds Jisung's hand in both of his, for a brief moment. He looks into Jisung's eyes, before he turns around. He walks out of the gates.

-

The states of the villages are extremely bad. There's an odor wafting around the village, and Chenle can't help but cover his nose. All he sees are houses, walls stained with fluids he doesn't want to imagine. There are some people sprawled on the floor, unmoving. Chenle guesses that they're dead.

Some villagers line up outside of their houses to greet the Prince, awestruck. Chenle shakes their hands, knowing full well that it's the worst thing to do. But he does it anyway, to tell them that even though they're in a state of distress, the royalty won't ignore them. Right now, their only line of hope is the royal family.

Ordering the medics to help treat those who were still alive, he stands there and takes it all in. Throughout his lifetimes, he's never seen such a disease before. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a boy, no older than nine, sitting on the porch of what Chenle assumes is his house. Chenle approaches him, and crouches down so he's at eye-level with him. 

The boy tilts his head, curious as to why Chenle was in front of him. 

"Hello," He says softly, careful not to startle the boy. "What's your name?" 

"Jingchen," the boy mumbles. _Quiet morning,_ Chenle thinks. _Not unlike this day._

"Are you feeling fine, Jingchen?" Chenle pats Jingchen's head. 

He shouldn't be touching someone, especially without any protective gear. He does it anyway.

"Prince Chenle!" He hears a guard call out. Chenle, upon hearing he call, whips around and heads in the direction of the voice, robes whipping from the movement.

The medics are tending to a fallen man, who's coughing out blood, with a large wound on the side of his body. 

"I-I think he's not going to make it. He has the disease and his wound— it's huge." One of the medics say. 

Chenle glances around the village, and takes in the sight of the disorder. The villagers all have blood on their clothes, their eyes sunken, and their bodies frail. A choice he has to make. He turns back to look at the man, and contemplates.

"Leave him be." He whispers to the medics after a short moment. Sacrifices are meant to be made if for the good of something else.

They pack up and tend to the others instead.

-

Across the next few days, Chenle succumbs to the disease. It's expected, really, ever since he had come back from the trip to that village. 

He's been coughing up blood, fever running high. He keeps on wheezing, shortness of breath being one of the symptoms. 

Till the end, Jisung stays with him. Although at a distance, he's always there. Watching him. 

Chenle catches a glimpse of Jisung and smiles weakly. He's reminded of the very first time they met, oh how the tables have turned. 

He beckons Jisung over with a measly wave of a finger, and Jisung comes running over, alert and tense. There's a pause in the air, tension thick and heavy.

"I'll see you next time, Jisung-ah." Chenle breathes out, voice almost inaudible. He then, slowly, stills, until he is unmoving. 

Jisung's eyes widen in shock, mouth dropping open. 

"Chenle- Chenle?" He timidly shakes Chenle' body, hands trembling. When unresponsive, he calls for a nurse.

That night, the Second Prince is declared dead. The whole kingdom mourns.

**↺**

With the discovery of steam engines, technology is changing rapidly. People have started to mass produce items, rapidly building factories. Chenle is fascinated at how the technology has changed throughout the years. It's interesting that he gets to witness this massive change, as he himself has experienced firsthand the technology from before.

He hops off the steamship, a briefcase in one hand, and a letter in the other. Brushing past the crowd that had formed while getting off the ship, he cranes his neck to look for a taxi he could use to ride to the factory.

In the taxi, he carefully opens the letter that his parents had sent him. It only contained an address, and a few instructions on what to do when he takes over the factory. In this life, his parents are entrepreneurs, who created a business in the field of metalwork. They sent Chenle to London to oversee their factories, since they were too busy to travel. 

It's a fairly short ride to the factory, he realises, as he gets out of the taxi. His eyes roam around as he takes in the view of the London city. There's buildings lining the cobblestone street, various people wearing coats making their way downtown. Chenle's eyes sparkle at the new sights, mouth slightly agape. 

While he was busy admiring the view, someone bumps into him, and the things in the stranger's hands all fall to the ground, making a loud noise.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I must have stood in your way," Chenle quickly apologizes, crouching down to pick up the things— which Chenle figures out are a bunch of metal scraps.

"A-ah! No, it's my fault, sir, I wasn't looking," The stranger denies, flustered. He crouches down too, picking up his fallen metal scraps.

"What do you need all these scraps for, anyway?" He asks the stranger, focusing on the small sheet of metal he turns around in his hand.

"Oh, I work for a metalworking factory." He hears the husky voice of the stranger say. 

"Hmm," He hums as an acknowledgement, and stands up to hand the scraps to the stranger. 

"Thank you so much for your help, sir," The stranger says, bowing. He adjusts the spectacles perched on his sharp nose, and— wait a minute, he looks _familiar_.

"Jisung?" Chenle screeches, startling Jisung into dropping all the scraps again. Jisung only stares, wide eyed at Chenle. He blinks, once, then twice.

"Wait, Chenle?" Jisung replies, voice as loud as Chenle's. "What are you doing here?" 

Chenle turns his head to look around the vicinity for any passersby. "I'm supposed to be managing the Zhong Metalworks factory,"

"Zhong Metalworks? That's the place I work at!" Jisung exclaims. Huh, what a coincidence.

"Really?" Jisung nods. "Can you show me the way, then? I'm a little lost," Chenle flashes a smile that both of them are familiar with.

-

They catch up as they pick up the scraps once again. Apparently Jisung decided to work at the factory since he didn't need much qualifications, and it paid decently. In turn, Chenle tells him all about the trip to London on the steamship. Jisung makes a comment on how he's always on ships. They laugh. It's been a long time since they'd last interacted like this, all light and carefree.

-

In a short time, he's learnt how to give orders and keep everyone in place. It's his job, after all. 

He doesn't get to see Jisung much during work, since he works in another sector managed by someone else. 

They get to talk to each other briefly at lunch, chatting as they shove their mouths with food. Time is precious, and they don't want to get punished for slacking off. 

He hears a cough from Jisung. He looks over, concern painting his features, and asks, "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just some bad lungs, that's all." Jisung replies, rubbing his chest.

The factory is extremely unhygienic, chemical fumes mixing with the metal dust, that's just the worst combination ever. The fumes make Chenle's lungs sting, and he hates it. He can't imagine what Jisung feels, with those bad lungs of his. 

-

"Hey! Stop slacking off! Get back to work!" Chenle barks out at the crowd that formed near one of the factory's doorways. 

The crowd doesn't move, and Chenle hears a few words from their mumbling. 

"I think he's unconscious—" 

"Is he faking it?"

That piques Chenle's curiosity, and he shoves through the crowd with authority. 

He's met with a seemingly unconscious Jisung, lying on the floor, with a metal cart toppled over at his side. At the sight, Chenle rushes forward, getting on his knees and shaking Jisung up. 

"Hey, hey, can you hear me?" He calls out, and Jisung stirs with a coughing fit.

Frown marring his face and Jisung cradled in his arms, he shoots a pointed look towards the other workers, shouting at them to continue working. 

In the meanwhile, he carries Jisung bridal-style with much difficulty, and hauls him to the backseat of a taxi. He's going to bring Jisung home.

-

Chenle's apartment is small for the both of them, but it's all they've got. He doesn't know where Jisung lives, so he brought him to his house to stay. Currently, Jisung's laying on Chenle's bed, sleeping, while Chenle brews some tea to soothe Jisung's throat.

Jisung wakes up with a jolt. He throws the thin blanket off of him and stands up abruptly, before he realises he's in someone's home. Looking around frantically, he spots Chenle, brewing the tea.

"Chenle? Is this your house? Why am I here?" Jisung rasps out, voice a tiny bit gone. 

Chenle looks up, and hands Jisung the cup of tea. "You fainted in the factory, so I brought you home." 

"But what about— I have to finish the welding today!" Jisung says, but it comes out as more of an aggressive whisper. He clears his throat when he realises his voice only came out as rasps.

"I made someone else do it, okay? You, on the other hand, stay here and _rest._ " Chenle places a hand on Jisung's shoulder, guiding him to sit back down on the bed.

-

Jisung, completely ignoring Chenle's nagging for him to _'stay at home, gosh darn it!'_ continues to work at the factory, as if nothing had happened.

Chenle, however, hovers around Jisung every chance he gets, like a little fly. He knows the fumes aren't good for someone like Jisung, and if this continues, he'll— worst case scenario— _die_.

And although Chenle has seen Jisung die (once), he does _not_ want to see it happen again. 

-

It happens slowly, over time. It first starts off as Jisung coughs more and more. Then the lightheadedness starts. He starts to feel a little dizzy sometimes while working, but doesn't do anything about it. 

His cough starts getting worse and worser, and he starts finding it difficult to breathe. Every time Chenle sees him, he's always breathing deeply, a pained look on his face.

Eventually, he can't even walk straight anymore. Walking as if he's drunk, he stumbles into everything. His hand that he uses to massage his head when he gets a headache seems to be permanently attached to his head.

When Chenle asks him if he's fine, though, he always brushes him off, saying that he's completely fine. Chenle knows he's lying. 

Then, Jisung stops going into the factory. Chenle notices this the second day he's not working. He'd try to check on him, but he doesn't know where Jisung lives. Using his rights as a manager, he snoops around, asking the other workers where Jisung went. 

"I don't know, okay? That boy was always so quiet, and he keeps on bumping into me recently, such a hassle. It's a good thing he's gone." Chenle receives as a reply from a worker. He's been asking around so much, but to no avail. He can only hope that Jisung's alright.

-

"Excuse me?" Chenle hears a hesitant voice from behind him. He spins around, to see a worker. He kind of recognises him. Jeno, if he remembers correctly. 

He puts on a professional façade, smiling politely at Jeno.

"I heard you were looking for Jisung," Jeno starts. Chenle pricks up immediately, eagerly waiting for the rest of the sentence to be spoken. "Well. He… I'm not sure but… I went to his apartment the other day, and I think he's… getting worse," He says the last part as if it's a question. 

"Do you know where he lives?" Chenle asks quickly.

"Oh, yeah, let me just write it down for you," Jeno starts looking for a spare pen and paper. Chenle offers the notebook he's stashed in his breast pocket.

-

"Must be here," Chenle mumbles to himself as he slows to a stop in front of a run-down building. At night, it gives off an eerie feeling. He heads inside cautiously, feet stepping on the broken tiles on the floor. He wonders what happened in this building. 

Taking a glance at the address Jeno had written down on his notebook, he heads up the stairs to Jisung's apartment. 

Reaching the door, he knocks timidly. "Jisung? It's me, Chenle," He says, only to hear no response. He knocks harder. Still no response. Chenle feels his heart rate quicken. His face goes cold at the mere possibility of why Jisung's not answering the door. 

He looks down at the door handle, and he grasps it firmly. He pushes down and—

It's open. The door was never locked in the first place. _Oh._ Chenle thought. He steps inside, taking small steps into the small room and sees Jisung, slouched onto the couch. 

Approaching Jisung, Chenle nudges him tentatively. He doesn't stir. Chenle pulls back his hand, and grabs Jisung's hand. Presses two fingers against the insides of his wrist.

Dread fills him up. His hands tremble. There's no pulse. 

-

Chenle stumbles out of the apartment, and onto the streets. Eyes widened and hair disheveled, breathing heavily.

"No… No, this cannot be happening," He whispers to himself, unable to face the truth. 

He reaches the road before his legs give out, making him collapse on the floor. Tears clog up his eyes as he feebly tries to stand up. 

He doesn't see the blinding light approaching him at breakneck speed.

**↺**

Chenle blinks the sleep out of his eyes, head perched on his hands as he tries to stay awake. It's not like he can help it, though. The midnight shifts at the diner are always the worst. No one even comes in at this time, they're all sleeping! 

Chenle works at Seo's Diner in this lifetime, a popular restaurant owned by his friend Johnny's parents. They serve the best root beer floats and ice cream sundaes in the state. Not to mention that their burgers are to die for.

He hums along to a song that's faintly playing from the radio, startling when he hears the bell ringing, signalling that a customer had just walked into the store. He quickly props himself on the counter, flashing his best customer service smile. 

The customer walks in, wearing a baseball cap pulled low, and a backpack slung over his shoulder. 

"Welcome to Seo's Diner, What would you like to order today?" Chenle recites the memorized lines like a robot.

The customer stands there, hesitating, before asking, "Do you have a menu?" 

Chenle crouches down and pulls out their paperback menus to give to the customer.

He looks over it for a while, before deciding. "I'd like to have a," He squints at the menu, "Limitless burger, please?" and looks up at Chenle. Recognition flashes in his eyes.

"Woah, Chenle?" The customer said. Chenle, who was just barely paying attention the whole time, frowns in confusion. He squints and the customer, and holy shit, 

"Jisung?" Chenle gapes. "You died on me last time!" 

"We meet in a long time and the first thing you tell me is a complaint?" Jisung scoffs, all bark but no bite. Chenle beams, tilting his head cheekily.

"Plus, you have no right to say that! You've died on me at least three times!" Jisung pouts. Chenle sticks his tongue out at him.

-

They chatter as Jisung finishes up his burger and fries, Chenle leaning against the counter. 

"What time is it?" Jisung asks. Chenle hums and checks his watch.

"2:43 A.M, why?" He replies, looking up at Jisung with curiosity. 

"Oh, that's late. I really should get going soon." Jisung winces as he realises what time it is. 

"Alright, come back soon, okay?" Chenle says.

Jisung hesitates for a moment, "S-sure." before he pushes the door open and steps out of the diner, the tinkling of the bell sounding. Chenle stares at his retreating figure.

-

A police car pulls up in front of the restaurant not a day later. Chenle, coincidentally, is on his shift. He gazes at the car curiously, wondering why it's there. He asks Johnny, and Johnny just shrugs it off, saying that they've served police officers before. 

The bell rings, and Chenle sees the officers walk in. He plasters his customer service smile on his face, asking them for their orders. 

"We're not here to eat. Do you mind if you answer a few of our questions for an ongoing case?" An officer asks. Chenle blanks for a moment, before nodding his head.

"There's a criminal running around here, and he was last spotted near this area." The officer states. "Perhaps, have you seen a kid named Park Jisung? He looks like this." The officer pulls out a folded piece of paper, and unfolds it before sliding it across the counter. 

On the paper is a perfect rendition on Jisung's face. _A criminal?_ Chenle burrows his eyebrows, thoughts running through his mind.

It's not until the officer clears his throat when Chenle remembers that he has to answer. 

"H-him? He doesn't look like someone who'd commit a crime," Chenle says, avoiding the officer's eyes. He fidgets with a loose string on his sweater.

"Mhm. But the kid managed to murder both his parents. I'll repeat myself, have you seen him?" the officer asks once again, eyes burning into Chenle's head. 

"N-no, sir, I don't think he's passed by this place. Sorry." Chenle scratches the back of his neck, throwing a sheepish glance at the officer, only to look away as he meets the other's stern gaze.

"Okay, then. Thank you anyways." The officer leaves, heading back into his car. 

Chenle's eyes are shaking as he processes what happened. 

-

A few weeks later, he sees, on the news, Park Jisung being sentenced to a lifetime in prison.

**↺**

Chenle pushes open the heavy doors of the library, carrying his laptop in one hand. He finds his usual comfy spot at the back of the building, a nook hidden between the tall, towering shelves of history books. It was a great, secluded spot for some peace and quiet (since his roommate would not shut up sometimes) and, if he ever needed to look for any books, he wouldn't need to go far.

He plunks down on the plush armchair, placing his laptop on the coffee table and turning it on. He plugs earphones in, and starts playing some music. He stretches. He's got an essay to write. 

-

He's slouched on the armchair, legs propped up on the table, thumbs furiously moving as he plays PUBG on his phone. He hasn't touched his essay since he wrote the first word. It's due next week, after all. 

Squinting at his laptop and engaging in a mental war on whether he should finish that essay, he sighs, and sits up straight. 

Chenle stands up after a moment, deciding that he'll do some research instead. He walks in between the shelves, looking up and down for the book that'll contain the information he needs. 

A book catches his eyes. _Emperors of China._ Making a sound of delight, he picks it up, flipping through the pages. That's the book he needs. He pulls a few other books from the shelves before he heads back to his spot.

-

Flipping through the book, he's intrigued by the many tales of the Emperors that rule over China. Even though he might have heard of some of them in his previous lifetimes, he still thinks it's cool. To look back on what you've lived through. That's why he became a history major.

He stops at a page, about the Zhong Dynasty in the 17th Century. His own name stares back at him. _Zhong Chenle, the second prince of the Zhong Dynasty, had sacrificed his life in order to give a ray of hope to the villagers in the nationwide pandemic._

He lights up immediately, because that's his name! He's in the book! He giggles, proud of himself.

-

It's 3 P.M in the afternoon as Chenle enters the boba shop near his campus. He gets in the line, ready to order. 

"Oh! Chenle! Your usual today?" Jaemin, the cashier greeted him with his signature smile. Chenle beamed back, nodding. Jaemin inputs his order and tells Chenle the total. Chenle fumbles with his wallet before pulling out his credit card for Jaemin to swipe. Jaemin writes 'Lele' on the cup as usual, and hands it to a coworker. 

The drink is finished, and Chenle is called. He picks up his drink, and heads to a booth near the window. 

-

He's scrolling aimlessly on Instagram when he hears the bell above the door ring, and Jaemin's loud voice fills his ears. 

"Ay! Jisung! What's up, man!" Jaemin says, loudly. There aren't many people in the shop, but everyone turns to look at Jaemin and the Jisung in question. Jisung's looks down, face red, and trying to hide.

"Hyung! Would you stop that!" Jisung whisper-shouted, hands subconsciously rubbing his ears.

Chenle's attention snaps to Jisung's figure standing in front of the counter, being coddled by Jaemin as he orders. His eyes sparkle as he recognises Jisung. 

Jisung stands there while his drink is being prepared, chatting to Jaemin. He grabs his drink and walks towards one of the booths. Chenle chooses this opportunity to call out to him.

"Jisung!" He says, albeit softly. Lucky for him, Jisung hears him. His expression turns into surprise as he sees Chenle.

"Chenle?" Jisung approaches Chenle, sliding into the opposite seat of the booth. 

"The One and only!" Chenle smiles, eyes scrunching up. He always feels tremendous joy whenever he discovers Jisung in a new life. 

"So. A criminal, huh?" Chenle has a smug expression on his face. Jisung's face reddens once again.

"Shut up!" He whispers, "I was framed, and they didn't want to reinvestigate the case." 

"Oh." 

Chenle eyes the backpack Jisung has at his side. The top is slightly agape, and he sees a laptop in there.

"College?" He asks. It takes Jisung a second before he understands the question.

"Oh, yeah. SNU." He replies.

"No way! I go to SNU too!" Chenle bounces on his seat excitedly, "I'm a history major, what's yours?" 

"Dance," Jisung sips on his drink, fingers drumming on the table. 

"Ah," Chenle nods his head slowly, "So How do you know Jaemin?" 

Jisung cracks a small smile, and from there, it turns into a Jaemin diss fest.

-

Jaemin approaches them while cleaning the tables, eyes widening at the interaction between Chenle and Jisung, laughing their heads off in the small boba shop.

"Woah, Jisung, I didn't know you knew Chenle!" He grins. Their laughter dies down, turning into giggles. 

"Oh, yeah, we go _way_ back." Chenle says, and the two burst into laughter again. Jaemin squints, trying to figure out what was going on. 

"...Sure, then, I'll leave you guys to be," He sighed, and rushed back to the counter when he saw a customer coming in.

-

Jisung has to rush somewhere, and he gives Chenle his phone number. Chenle leaves the shop with a smile, and bliss in his steps.

-

They bump into each other in front of a convenience store coincidentally. They stare at each other for a few moments, before Chenle breaks out into a smile. 

Jisung pulls out his earphones, "Did you come here to buy something too?" 

"Well yeah, dummy, this is a store?" Chenle mocks, jokingly. Jisung realises what he said, and laughs as well. 

They end up sitting outside of the store, on those plastic lawn chairs, chatting. 

"Hey," Chenle brings up, sipping on his bottle of soda, "Why do you think we're, y'know… being reincarnated?"

Jisung pauses for a while, thinking. "I don't know." He squeezes the carton of chocolate milk in his hand. "Fate, maybe?" 

Chenle sighs, and looks up. Civilization has changed, but the skies have not. He remembers the days where there were stars that littered the sky. "Man, back in the day, there were so many stars in the sky." 

Jisung smiles, "Remember when you absolutely hated learning astrology with Master Huang?" 

The memory is still fresh in his mind, "Oh, yeah. He was a huge asshole." Chenle grumbles. 

They lapse into silence. But it isn't awkward at all. They bask in each other's presence. Chenle feels a bubbly sensation whenever he's with Jisung, like he's at the top of the world. At the same time, it feels all warm and cozy when they're together, and he wants to snuggle up in a blanket and just have Jisung right by his side. He can only hope Jisung feels the same.

"I kinda miss those days, though." Chenle mutters.

"Yeah, and either one of us dies in some weird way?" Jisung quips, gummy smile shining. It's an expression Chenle wants to see forever.

Chenle cackles, leading into a bout of laughter from the both of them. 

-

It's not until Chenle's attending a lecture when he realises. The way he feels towards Jisung. The warmth and admiration for him— It's love. 

The realisation dawns upon him in a wave, and he thinks it's scary. To love someone that would be with you forever. If he fucked up, things could change for the worse. 

Then he doubts. _Is it really love?_ He subconsciously squints his eyes at the question in his mind. The connection he feels with Jisung, the joy, the happiness. 

'Love,' He mouths, he doesn't really like it, he decides. It's too confusing. But he guesses he'll have to take it in his stride.

-

Chenle leans his head on his fist, chuckling at a joke Jisung made. And as he looks at the pure, unadulterated joy painting Jisung's face, he thinks, maybe he can put up with love if he gets to see this everyday. 

-

He asks Jisung to meet him at the boba shop. They order their drinks, and sit at their usual booths. Jisung's staring outside the window when Chenle speaks up.

"Um." He starts. Jisung's attention is shifted to him, curious. "I think— I mean, I've been thinking? I'm not sure, but uh— we've, y'know, been together- together as in _reincarnated_ , and—" He sucks in a deep breath "I think I love you," 

Jisung only stares at him. _Shit, shit, shit, I've fucked up!_ Chenle internally panics, because what else are you supposed to do when the person you just confessed to doesn't reply?

"Love?" Jisung asks, head tilting to the side. Chenle nods, slowly. Jisung's smiles. 

"Actually," He says, cheeks red, "I think I love you too." And the immense relief Chenle feels as he hears those words floods through his system. With the biggest smile on his face, he extends his hands, an invitation for a hug. 

Jisung falls into his arms, squeezing him tightly. _At this moment,_ Chenle thinks, _It's all good now._

-

After that whole affair, they're attached to the hip now. Everywhere Jisung goes, Chenle follows. (Except for class, of course.) He finds himself being extra cautious around roads and dangerous things of the like, because he can't stand to lose Jisung, even if he knows he'll probably see him in the next life. He also finds Jisung doing the same, fussing over him when he gets a cold. 

-

Eventually they grow old together, and they get engaged, and married. Chenle can't stop smiling through the whole ceremony, and he smiles even more when he sees that Jisung's precious gummy smile is on full display. 

They move into a small apartment that's big enough for the two of them, and adopt a cat named Zennie, an adorable ragdoll cat with the biggest, sparkliest eyes.

Chenle doesn't regret this one bit as he sees Zennie chasing the mouse toy attached to a stick Jisung was shaking around. He basks in the moment, at peace.

-

The peace, as always, doesn't last long. One day, as Chenle was on his way home from work, he receives a call. He picks up, not knowing who it is. 

"Hello? Is this Zhong Chenle? Mr. Park's Husband?" A voice from the other side of the phone calls out.

"Ah, yes, it is. May I ask who this is?" Chenle replies.

"I'm sorry to inform you that your husband has been admitted to Seoul General Hospital due to an accident. He's undergoing emergency treatment right now." The voice says. Chenle's heart drops. He hangs up quickly, and flags a cab to bring him to the hospital. 

The trip to the hospital takes forever, and Chenle's on the edge of his seat as soon as he sees the building come into view. He pays the driver, and flings himself off the car, running into the building. 

He finds the receptionist desk fairly quickly, hands slamming onto the counter. The nurses jump from surprise.

"Sorry, I— I'd like to see Park Jisung?" He says, speaking far quicker than normal. 

"Are you Zhong Chenle?" A nurse asks. He nods, panting. 

"He's still in operation right now, though. You'll have to wait until the operation ends." 

"Um, do you know what happened to him?" Chenle asks, eyes pleading.

"From what I heard, he had an accident at work." The nurse's tone is emphatic.

Chenle understands immediately. Jisung was a choreographer and a dance instructor. He even had his own dance studio. Chenle remembers the night, a few weeks ago, about Jisung rambling excitedly about a choreography he was supposed to create for a new idol group that included acrobatic movements. Chenle didn't understand half the jargon he had said, but he understood the gist anyways. 

Chenle sighs, and trudges towards the direction of the operating rooms. Crashing down onto a seat, he waits.

-

The doors open. Chenle stands up immediately, hopeful. However, the expressions on the doctors' faces don't seem well. It only worries Chenle even more.

"Did he make it?" He asks, distraught.

There was a huge pause, "I'm sorry. He did not make it." They say.

The world comes crashing down on Chenle, and he feels like he can't breathe anymore. His knees buckle, heart cracking. He lets out an ugly sob.

That night, he comes home, to an empty house, save for Zennie. He cries, and cries, and cries until he has no more tears. 

**↺**

The distance between Chenle and Jisung in this life is so close, yet so far, it's almost laughable.

Chenle first hears about the newly-debuted rookie group called DRE4M from one of his friends. 

"Hey, Chenle, did you see DRE4M's debut music video yet?" His friend says, and Chenle's mind goes blank. 

"Dream? Who's that?" He asks, curious. 

His friend stares at him as if he grew two heads. "You don't know DRE4M? They're literally the hottest idols right now! They just debuted!" Chenle frowns, how can rookies be top idols when they just debuted?

Chenle keeps silent, though, and his friend takes that as a cue to keep on rambling. "They're monster rookies, there's only four of them, but they're seriously all-rounders!" And yeah, okay, Chenle doesn't get a single thing at all. 

"I'll show you their music video, hold on," His friend groans at Chenle's unresponsiveness. He pulls out his phone and opens up YouTube. After tapping for a while, he shows Chenle the phone. 

It's a music video, titled "DRE4M 'GO' M/V", and it has a retro vibe to it. Chenle realises that they're _really_ good. Rapping? Check. Vocals? Check. Dancing? _Phenomenal_. He starts bobbing his head subconsciously to it, absorbed in the video. His friend smiles smugly as he sees Chenle focused on the video.

Chenle's interest is piqued even more as the video shows a close up shot of a member that's in the centre. He looks familiar. Chenle rewinds a few seconds to look at it once again. _Wait a minute,_ Chenle realises with a start. _Jisung?_

His friend notices Chenle looking at the boy on the screen. "That's JS, he's the main dancer."

Chenle's lips tilt up fondly as he remembers how Jisung had found his passion for dancing in the past lifetime.

The video ends. Chenle nods his head approvingly, "DRE4M, was it?" 

"Yeah, they're amazing," His friend replies.

-

When Chenle goes home, he immediately starts up his laptop, searching for more DRE4M videos. Turns out they've been doing activities before they debuted, so they're already exposed to netizens. He ends up getting engrossed in their music videos and dance covers, even checking out the variety shows they started in. He scrolls through their social media, looking through the selfies that they posted. Most of them are Jisung's. He wonders how he'll be able to reach Jisung now that he's an idol.

Then, he gets an idea. 

-

Clutching his newly bought camera tightly, he squeezes through the crowd with difficulty. It's tough being in the middle of screaming girls all waving their hands to get their idols to notice them. 

He pushes to the front, careful to not jostle the camera. He doesn't know much about photography, but it was expensive, and he's not going to let his money go down the drain like that.

Then Chenle spots his targets walking down the pathway. Hurriedly, he lifts the camera, and starts taking pictures. Of one person. Of Jisung. 

It's probably not the best idea he's had, but he figured if he could become a fansite, he could slowly grow more popular in the fanbase until Jisung noticed him.

The first few pictures aren't that great, but he continues to practice until he gets better at it.

He creates a Twitter account under the name of _destiny_JS_. He edits the pictures he took earlier in the day, picks the best of the best, and he posts them. Then he waits. 

-

His posts start gaining popularity after one of his first posts, which showed Jisung doing some aegyo in an Idol Radio appearance.

He had woken up, with a ton of notifications from Twitter, all replies and retweets of that post, all saying something along the lines of "JS is adorable!" And, well, they're right.

Now he has about 2k followers and he's dead set on getting more.

-

He smiles at the reactions of the fans after he posts his latest previews— It's from DRE4M'S latest performance on MAMA, where Jisung was wearing a shimmery green jacket, hair black and styled perfectly. The fans are going crazy, and Chenle can't blame them. He'll post the HD pictures later when he's done editing them.

After just a few months of following DRE4M on some of their schedules, he's improved a _lot_ . He now can capture Jisung's movements perfectly, every picture coming out as a work of art. Because of that, he's proud to say that _destiny_JS_ has quickly risen to become one of the best JS fansites out there. 

-

"Nooo! I'm really not ready to meet them at a fansign!" Chenle laments to his friends he made through being a fansite. There's Hyojin, known as _markmint_ , a fansite master for DRE4M's Mark, and Junghwa, who's not a fansite but is just a fan account for DRE4M under the name of _4dream._

"Come on, Lele! You've been a fansite for 2 years already, and you seriously haven't attended a fansign properly?" Junghwa nags, playfully slapping his arm.

"Yeah, I'm the one who has to take pictures for you," Hyojin joins in, "I have to take pictures of Mark too, okay?" 

Chenle pouts. Should he really join a fansign, and have Jisung recognise him? 

"You're the top JS fansite right now, it's high time you join a fansign," Hyojin ends the train of thought in Chenle's mind.

"Okay. I'll do it." Chenle speaks up after a long pause, determined.

-

"What should I wear?" He shouts into the phone, flipping the camera so that Hyojin and Junghwa could see his wardrobe. He's finally attending his very first fansign (and meeting Jisung), and to say that he's panicking is an understatement. He bought many albums just so he could attend, and luckily, he was picked.

"That one, the black T-shirt," Junghwa points out from the phone screen. Chenle pulls out the shirt from the wardrobe, showing it to the camera. 

"Yeah, yeah! Pair it with the black ripped jeans," Hyojin says enthusiastically. 

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Junghwa squeals. Chenle winces at the high pitched noise. 

"Okay, okay, let me just change, hold on-" He puts down the phone and runs to the bathroom to get changed. 

Once he's changed, he picks up the phone and shows his reflection in the mirror. "Is this okay?" He asks.

"Wait, why don't you pair it with that black jacket?" Junghwa suggests. 

"Okay…" Chenle grabs the jacket Junghwa was referring to and puts it on. 

"Perfect!" She exclaims, doing a chef's kiss. "Good luck at your first fansign! Too bad I can't go today," She groans. Hyojin giggles. 

-

"Are you ready, child?" Hyojin slings an arm around Chenle's shoulder, walking down the street with him to the venue. 

Chenle plays with the strap of his camera bag. "Well, kind of?" 

"That's the spirit!" She slaps his back.

They enter the venue, and Hyojin guides him to some empty seats. They sit down, and Chenle shakes his legs in both nervousness and excitement. 

Girls start screaming, and Chenle's attention is diverted to the four idols walking out onto the stage. _It's him!_ Chenle's mind blasts. Jisung is standing there, only a distance away from him. Calming himself with a deep breath, he pulls out his camera and starts snapping pictures.

Shortly after, the staff announces that they're starting the event. Chenle feels anxiety pool up in his stomach. Luckily Hyojin's in the same line as him, and they're close together. 

Chenle sees the lineup, and Jisung's at the last. Good. At least he can collect his thoughts before he meets Jisung.

Time passes quicker than he thought, and he's at the front of the line. He can feel sweat condensing at the back of his neck. He taps his foot on the floor, fidgeting.

He sees the person in front of him shift to the right, and the first member staring at him, beckoning him to come, with a small smile. 

The first member is Mark, the member Hyojin's a fansite for. He's the leader and he's currently looking at him with concealed surprise and a kind smile.

"Hello," Chenle mutters, feeling a bit shy. He slides the album onto the table, flipping it open to the page Mark is supposed to sign.

"Oh! You're a fanboy? Nice to meet you, man!" Mark says, extending a hand for Chenle to shake. 

Chenle takes it. "Yeah, this is my first fansign…" 

Mark signs the page, "It's fine, no need to be so nervous,"

Chenle smiles bashfully, bowing his head when he needs to move on to the other members. 

The other two members, Nana and Jeno, react similarly. He remembers them from past lifetimes, and it's interesting how their lives intertwine together.

He chats with Jeno for a brief moment before their manager tells him that he has to move on. He takes a shaky breath before he's met with Jisung's gaze.

Jisung drops the pen he was fiddling with onto the table, eyes widening as he recognises Chenle. He blinks, and he has a tight-lipped smile on his face, and Chenle knows it's just a mask.

"Hi," Chenle greets, flipping the album open. 

"Chenle? Wh-," Jisung's eyes look around them, cautious of the fans. "What are you doing here?" He whispers frantically.

"To see you!" Chenle beams cheekily. Jisung doesn't answer, but signs the album and closes it quickly. 

"You've gotten really good at dancing, you know," Chenle says quietly. 

Jisung perks up, eyes sparkling. "Really?" 

Chenle nods. "Mhm. It's really cool! The way you go," he tries to mimic Jisung's dance with his arms, "like this?" 

Jisung bursts out laughing. "Nice moves you got there," 

"Oh, shut up!" Chenle misses these banters, like always. 

The manager approaches them, telling him that he has to go. He gets ready to stand up, but Jisung stops him.

"Wait! When you get home, open the album, okay?" He whispers. Chenle's confused, but he nods anyways, and goes back to his seat.

Hyojin's waiting for him at the seats when he comes back. Her face lights up in excitement as she sees him, and she gestures with her arm for Chenle to come quickly. 

"How was it? Your first fansign!" She asks, enthusiastic. 

Chenle grins, "It was great! They were so cool!" Hyojin smirks, smug.

"See? There's nothing scary about them, you didn't need to wait, what? Two years?" 

Chenle only laughs, loud and clear.

-

He pulls out the album in the comfort of his apartment, Jisung's words stuck in his mind. 

Flipping to the page that Jisung signed, he has a hunch that something would be there. 

He's right. Below the signature, there's a small string of numbers in small writing. _My KKT ID!_ It reads. 

Chenle takes a few moments to understand what's happening. _Jisung just gave me his number_. 

Hurriedly, he scrambles for his phone and inputs the ID into his KakaoTalk. He saves the number as _Jisungie??_

He sends the alleged Jisung some texts. 

_[oh shit I heard Mr. JS gave me his number??]_

It's a dumb text, he knows.

Soon enough, he sees the small number one beside the text disappear, indicating that Jisung has read the text.

 _[Typing…]_

Chenle bites his lip in anticipation.

_[Chenle are you genuinely okay]_

A reply! 

_[who's Chenle???]_

He sends, just to mess with Jisung a little.

_[Uh wrong number I'm sorry]_

He cackles when he reads Jisung's text, shaking in laughter.

_[im just kidding LMFAO]_

_[_ _it's me im Chenle]_

Jisung's reply takes a moment to come through.

_[Wow ok]_

_[You suck]_

_[Friendship revoked]_

_[suck it you'll be with me forever]_

_[be grateful!!!]_

_[No]_

_[brat]_

Chenle's not unfamiliar with this interaction, but there's this sensation warming up his chest as he continues chatting with Jisung. He guesses it's affection, remembering those times where he felt the same exact feeling when he saw Jisung. 

-

"Who are you texting? Your girlfriend?" Junghwa says, mouth stuffed with fries.

Chenle pulls his phone closer to his chest, hiding, "What? No!"

"What? Lele has a girlfriend?" Hyojin smacks the table, "He's growing up so fast!" She leans back and drapes her hand across her forehead dramatically.

"No! I don't have a girlfriend!" Chenle protests.

"Then who's the person you keep texting? You light up everytime you text them,” Junghwa stares pointedly at him, suspicious.

"He's just a friend I haven't met in a long time, okay?" he tries to explain.

"'A friend', huh. _Sure_ . _"_

-

"Wow, you dyed your hair!" Chenle exclaims as soon as he sees Jisung come out of the building. 

"How did you know?" Jisung tugs on his bucket hat protectively. 

"It's blowing up on Twitter recently, because of that Vlive you did." Chenle explains, walking down the street, while looking out for anyone suspicious.

Meeting up with an idol is hard, Chenle realises. There's so many things they have to look out for, in case a scandal pops up, blowing things out of proportion. There's nosy reporters, _sasaengs_ and fans to keep an eye out for, and they can't cause any commotion. 

"Are you guys having a comeback soon?" Chenle asks, curious. It's also so he can prepare for his fansite schedule, but Jisung doesn't need to know about that.

"You know I can't tell you about that," Jisung says.

"Hah! So there _is_ a comeback!" Chenle shouts, triumphant.

"Shut up! People could hear you!" Jisung says, panicked. No, not really. They decided to meet up at midnight, where there were significantly lesser people. But that didn't mean there wasn't a chance that someone was near.

"Oh. Sorry." Chenle whispers. "But you didn't deny the comeback,"

Jisung knows he can't win at this game, "...Yeah, there is."

Chenle shoots him a blinding smile.

-

Chenle sings his heart out to a song both of them are familiar with. Beautiful Time, from DRE4M's debut album. He swings his legs as he belts out the lyrics. 

"You know, you should've been an idol too. Your voice is amazing," Jisung says, moving back and forth on the swing besides Chenle.

They're at a secluded playground not too far from Jisung's dorm, having managed to find a short time to meet up.

"Nah. I'd rather see you dance and sing," Chenle replies, "I'm doing great as a photographer,"

"Sure, if you say so." Jisung snickers

"Hey! Are you doubting my fansite skills?" Chenle says, reaching out to make a jab at Jisung's arm.

-

Looking up at the stage, He sees Jisung in the center of three other boys, dancing gracefully amongst the shining lights. His face shows up on the screen, winking at the camera. The fans shout and scream till their voices go rough.

Aiming his camera at Jisung, he clicks the shutter multiple times. He looks down at the pictures he took. There, in the middle of the blue and purple hued lights, is a boy he loves with all his heart.

And perhaps Fate seems to think that they've suffered enough, so in this life, she lets them live to their fullest.

**↺**

But of course, there's a price to pay for everything.

"There's two guards around the left corner." Chenle hears Jisung's voice in his intercom. "Should be easy enough, they seem new."

Chenle presses himself into the wall, holding his gun against his chest, waiting. 

The guards round the corner, and are shot before they could react. 

"Nice," Chenle whispers. "Where's the safe room?" 

"Turn left, then take the first corridor on your right." Jisung's voice buzzes.

"Alright. Any guards?" 

"No, security cameras have also been looped. The password's 160924." Jisung confirms.

"Okay," Chenle says as he walks towards the directions Jisung gave him. Gun in one hand and the other adjusting the goggles on his head. 

He reaches the safe doors, and inputs the password into the keypad. Suddenly, he hears a shout from behind.

"Hey! Who's there!" 

Chenle turns around so fast, he almost breaks his neck. He aims his gun, waiting for the guard to appear. 

The guard doesn't appear. He lowers his gun, cautious. He takes a tentative step forward, alert. A clang sounds from behind him.

He turns around, again, aiming the gun. But he's met with an army of guards. Eyes, shaking, he looks back, and realises that he's surrounded.

"Fuck, we've been tricked." He whispers into the intercom, before all hell breaks loose.

-

"Chenle! Zhong Chenle!" He hears a familiar voice shout. 

There's a sharp pain in his leg. His whole body hurts. 

His eyes open a crack, and all he sees is a blurry face. He closes his eyes.

-

There's a dull pain at the back of his head, and his whole body feels numb. He's lying down on a bed, various tubes attached to him. 

He groans, trying to sit up. Immediately, there hands at his side, urging him to lie down. 

"Hey, hey, you have to lay down," A man says. Confused, he lies back down.

"Am I… in the hospital?" He asks, groggy.

"No, you're in the med bay. Do you remember what happened?" The man replies.

Chenle racks his mind a little, and remembers. "Uh. Kinda? I got ambushed. Or something."

"So you can remember." The man— Kun, as Chenle remembers, writes down on his clipboard.

"You sustained many gunshot wounds, but luckily, backup was able to come in time before you bled out." Kun says as he looks at Chenle.

"How? We didn't contact anyone," As far as Chenle remembers, him and Jisung didn't have time to call for backup before he was attacked.

"Jisung did. He suspected something was wrong, and called for backup. He was fortunate that there really was an ambush." Kun explains. "He'd get punished if it was a false alarm."

Chenle understands what he means by that. In this particular mafia, calling for backup is restricted, unless there's something too much that they can handle. If there was a false alarm, they'd both get punished. 

"Mhm."

-

Chenle grunts as he gets shoved against the wall, choking. The knife in his grip slips, dropping to the ground. He claws at the arm choking him, glaring at the man

The man falls limp suddenly, collapsing. Behind him is Jisung, bloodied knife in one hand, breathing heavily. 

"Stay focused, Chenle! This is a mission!" He shouts, and Chenle flinches. He quickly picks the knife back up and gets back into the fight.

-

He coughs out blood, cheek aching. "What'd you hit so hard for?" 

Jisung frowns down at him, puzzled. "You've always dodged my punches." Chenle freezes.

He chokes out a fake laugh, "So what? I can get hit sometimes, okay?"

"No. You can't. Something's wrong, right?" Jisung says, stern. 

Sometimes Chenle hates that Jisung could see through him so easily. He sighs, sitting down. Jisung sits beside him, gaze curious.

"Don't you ever feel like leaving?" Chenle says, voice soft. It's the first time in years he'd ever been so vulnerable. It's a dog eat dog world, after all. 

"Leaving? Where?" Jisung tilts his head.

"This, everything," Chenle gestures to the room they're in. "Start anew in this life."

Jisung whips his head around to look at him.

"You're joking, right? This is the mafia," He looks around for any eavesdroppers, "You know we can't leave the mafia. Even if we joined as a joke— it's not anymore."

"But still, this life has so much potential, I just want to leave and y'know, live a life!" Chenle says, volume raising.

"So did the others! But what happened? We _died_ , Chenle! Even before we could do anything! Those lives had so much potential, too!" Jisung shouts back, eyes hard.

It's silent for a moment, and they can bear the faint buzzing of the ventilation fan nearby. 

"But it's still better than what we're doing now, right? I- I just can't _stand_ to get injured, seeing _you_ get injured…" Chenle mutters, voice barely audible. But Jisung, as always, manages to hear it.

"Then stay by me, and we'll protect each other, alright?" Jisung places a comforting hand on Chenle's knee.

Chenle takes a deep breath, and looks down, hair framing his face. He takes a moment, and stands up. He offers a hand to Jisung, and they walk back to the base together, in silence.

-

They don't bring it up anymore, focusing on the more important things on hand, like this infiltration mission they've been planning for for months.

-

Chenle knows he shouldn't be doing this, but there he is, hiding behind the wall near the entrance of the base. He pulls his cap low, head dipped. He strides over to the entrance, making his way out. It's easy. To just leave. Just, a little _too_ easy.

His view is obstructed by a wall— not a wall, he realises, as he stops himself from crashing into it. He looks up in surprise. 

He's met with the smug face of his boss, smirking. Chenle's eyes shake. 

"Where do you think you're going, huh?" His boss spits out, voice gruff. 

"I- I was just going to buy some things," Chenle stammers out, taking a few steps back.

"Uh-huh. Then what's that backpack for, huh?" His boss grins. "Don't think you can fool me, Zhong Chenle. I see and hear everything." 

Chenle knows immediately that he's no longer able to leave, or stay alive. 

"Looks like that little rat isn't here to protect you anymore, huh?" His boss gestures towards his lackeys. One of them passes him a gun. He cocks it. 

"Let this serve as a warning for anyone else who wants to leave, eh?" He aims the gun.

 _I'm sorry, Jisung._ Chenle squeezes his eyes shut as the trigger is pulled.

**↺**

Chenle shouts in surprise as the window explodes. "Not again _…_ " He groans in despair, running to hide under the counter. 

There's been so many villain attacks around this area lately, and no one has any idea why.

"This? Again? They're seriously going to make me bankrupt, huh?" Doyoung, the café's owner, groans from the kitchen, wooden spoon in one hand. 

Chenle hears the steady beat of footsteps approaching the counter, and he instinctively shrinks into a ball, clutching his knees tightly. Even if he's experienced this many times, you can't blame him for being scared. 

The person— most likely the villain, slams his palms onto the counter, making Chenle flinch, shoulder hitting a container. It makes a sound. He freezes, wishing that if he stayed still enough, the villain wouldn't notice him. 

The villain notices him. 

"Who's there? Reveal yourself!" He shouts. "Or I'll blow this whole counter up!" 

Chenle stands up immediately, deciding to save Doyoung some money. The villain grins when he spots Chenle.

"Ah, you there! Hand over all your valuables!" He shouts at Chenle, brandishing a knife.

"I don't have any valuables," Chenle says, like an absolute dumbass. The villain is thrown off, blinking in confusion. Chenle blinks back, expressionless. 

He hopes Doyoung has already called the police, or else he'd be in huge danger. 

"You sly bastard! I said, give me all your valuables!" The villain shoves the knife in Chenle's face, and he barely manages to jump back in time. 

"Ack!" Chenle exclaims as the villain jumps over the counter and manhandles Chenle. The villain has him in a chokehold, knife pressed against his throat. 

"Hand over all your valuables!" He barks out at the customers, which were all cowering in their seats. "Or else he dies!" 

_I'm not paid enough for this!_ Chenle thinks, eyeing the knife at his throat. _What is going on!_

The villain's arm twists backwards suddenly, and Chenle hears a loud crack. Using this opportunity, he runs out of the villain's hold, backing off as far as he can.

The villain tries to chase after him, but something stops him. Chenle sees the villain stop mid-air, locked in place.

He peeks out from his new hiding spot under a table to see a figure clad in a soft blue sweater walking in calmly. _Who the fuck is that?_ Chenle wonders, incredulous. 

Then he sees the familiar snowboarding goggles the person is wearing, and, _Holy shit, is that Airlock?_

Airlock, Korea's number one superhero. The dude Chenle sees almost daily on TV, on the news, doing some sort of heroic act. He's probably a celebrity. 

But Airlock usually dons a suit of some sort of armoured latex (details Chenle definitely doesn't know), not an oversized sweater. Chenle realises that he was probably in the area. Then he almost laughs because his mind supplies him an image of Airlock lugging around his snowboarding goggles everywhere he goes.

Airlock stands in front of the villain, hands in his pockets, relaxed. He pulls out his phone and sends a few texts. 

Looking around, he spots Chenle under the table and approaches him. 

"Uh, hey." Airlock crouches down, and his voice dies down as he sees Chenle. 

"Yes?" Chenle quips, confused. Airlock clears his throat and continues to speak again.

"He should be taken care of in a few moments," Airlock jabs a thumb at the villain, "Anyways, did he injure you in any way?" 

"No," Chenle mutters. 

"Okay, then. I'll arrange for the windows to be fixed later, sorry for the mess." Airlock bows, and walks out of the café, an immobile villain trailing behind him.

Well, It's not everyday you get to see the number one superhero.

-

Chenle's taking a stroll down the street, coffee in one hand, the other a bag of pastry. He hums a tune, following the route he usually takes. 

He's brought out of his stupor when someone dashes past him, and knocks into him. He stumbles, looking at the person who ran past him in annoyance. 

Then another person runs past him again, so fast that it's a blur. That person tackles the other down, straddling him and constraining him. 

"You're under arrest," The person— Chenle recognises is KM/H, another of Korea's top superheroes. 

Chenle sighs, walking the other way, like most people. 

-

Lately, there's been a massive influx of villain attacks lately, and fear is stirring in the citizens. Chenle is no exception as he sees yet another villain cause damage to the districts on the café's TV. 

"There's another one, huh?" Renjun, a co-worker of his says, drying a cup with a towel. 

"Yeah, there's been so many attacks lately," Chenle rips the receipt out of the receipt printer and hands it to a customer with her credit card. 

"Do you think something big's gonna happen?" Renjun asks, suddenly. Chenle stops to think for a while. It doesn't sit right with his stomach. 

"I hope not," Chenle turns to attend to another customer, and the topic dies down after that.

-

Renjun was right, kind of. Chenle's eyes are glued to the screen as the news station broadcasts the massive showdown happening at some location in Seoul. Itaewon, probably. 

Through the screen, it's obvious that the destruction is terrible. Buildings have collapsed, leaving only the bare metal framework, kept upright by concrete at its base. There's debris everywhere, shattered glass, bricks, and everything of the like. 

The camera pans to the main scene, hoards of zombified _things_ surrounding the city's heroes. 

"It looks like our heroes are surrounded by Matter's minions!" Chenle hears the news reporter shout into her microphone. 

The camera zooms in, and there's a clear view of what's happening. Airlock's keeping the minions immobile while Fullsun torches them to dust with his white-hot flames. It's simple, but with the amount of minions they have to face, it's draining them, Chenle can tell. 

The other heroes are skittering in between the crowd, attacking the minions.

"It seems like they're doing great!" The news reporter says. But not a second later, a loud roar echoes through the scene. No, scratch that. Chenle can hear it faintly from his apartment.

The camera focuses on a humanoid figure, oil-like black goo dripping from it. _Matter_ , Chenle realises. _The_ Villain. 

Chenle's eyes dart everywhere across the screen, anticipating what's going to happen next. Almost like a movie.

Matter leaps into the air, shooting long ribbons of his goo into the crowd. The goo turns into yet another minion. 

Matter lands, and the crowd of minions part, paving a way for their leader towards the heroes in the middle. For a second, nothing happens. 

Then Matter screams, and all hell breaks loose.

Spikes of black shoot out of his mouth, barely blocked by the heroes. Fullsun sends a blast of fire towards Matter, but it burns out too early. Another hero tries to shoot a lightning beam. 

Matter screams once again, louder this time, and a wave of the black spikes rain down on the heroes. The last thing the camera records is a spike piercing through Airlock's snowboarding goggles, shattering the lens. Then the camera, too, is impaled by a spike.

The scene turns black from the TV, static ringing. 

-

The News Station flits back to the scene about an hour later, surprising Chenle, who had laid down on the couch, scrolling through memes to distract himself.

Chenle immediately sits up straight, on the edge of the couch, focused on the TV.

'Matter finally apprehended!' The words on the bottom of the screen say. 

"—And the results are devastating. Our number one hero, Airlock, it seems that- oh my! He just fainted!" 

-

"Hey, hey, it's almost starting!" Chenle hears a customer say while he wipes down a table. He whips his head up, eyes searching for the TV. Hurriedly, he heads back to the spot from behind the counter, where Renjun was waiting as well.

"What do you think they're announcing?" Renjun asks, fidgeting with an empty cup. 

"Dunno, maybe it's something about the attack?" 

There's a conference being held by LOH, also known as the League of Heroes. They didn't speak another word about it, and it's got everyone curious. 

The conference starts by someone addressing the recent attack from Matter. He's now in jail, apparently. Chenle absentmindedly spins a pen in his hands as he continues watching.

"And now, may I pass this on to our beloved Airlock, who has something to say." The person says through the screen, and everyone in the café perks up. 

Airlock walks into the stage, but he isn't in his hero outfit. He's wearing a suit, his familiar snowboarding goggles nowhere in sight. A bandage wraps around his head, covering his right eye. 

Chenle freezes, dropping his pen. _Wait a minute! That's—_

"Hello. I'm sure all of you know me as Airlock, Korea's number one hero." Airlock clears his throat, "And I've had a great honour having this title for the longest time."

"But I'm afraid, all good things must come to an end, and personally, I'm very familiar with that." Airlock continues, chuckling softly at the inside joke. 

"Some of you might know, since young— the age of 11— I've been trained as a superhero, and that's all I know to do. To save people. Then at 14, I became a superhero, an actual _superhero_. At 14.'

"And I've experienced many things that I shouldn't have. But I did. And I'm here now." He gestures at the bandage around his right eye, "I've been thinking long and hard about this, and I think, this was the final factor that pushed me."

Airlock takes a long pause, contemplating his words. "So all of you know me as Airlock, but— from today onwards, you'll know me as Park Jisung, an ordinary citizen." He takes a deep breath. "I officially announce that I am stepping down as a superhero." Chenle hears gasps from everyone, including himself.

Airlock— or Jisung bows deeply. "I'm sorry to those who have supported me so much, just to see this day. I hope all of you will support me in my decision. Thank you." He bows again, and quickly makes his leave. 

"What the hell," Renjun mumbles from the side.

-

There's a buzz in the café as Chenle enters for his afternoon shift. He blinks in confusion, because the café wasn't this active, especially if it wasn't peak hours.

"Chenle! Chenle! Come meet our new staff!" Doyoung ushers Chenle into the kitchen, weirdly enthusiastic. 

"Chenle, our new waiter!" Doyoung announces, "I'll leave you two to be acquainted," He leaves the kitchen, humming. 

The person in question turns around from where he was organising some papers, and looks at Chenle. He grins.

"Jisung?" Chenle shouts when he recognises him. Jisung nods, approaching Chenle. He bows.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jisung," He says cheekily.

Then Chenle notices his face— the right side especially— littered with scars, his right eye milky. Chenle realises with a shock that the spikes had pierced through the goggles and right into the eye. 

Chenle punches Jisung's shoulder. "You really went and injured yourself, huh?" 

"Ow!" Jisung squeaks and rubs his shoulder. "You did, too! So many more times!" He accuses. 

Chenle giggles, and extends his arms out for a hug, "C'mere," 

Jisung crashes into him, "I missed you," he mumbles. 

Chenle smiles, eyes forming twin crescents. 

-

"Oh my gosh, isn't that _Airlock?_ " Chenle perks up at a customer's awestruck voice. He follows the customer's gaze to Jisung's frame from behind the counter. 

He fights a snicker as he sees the tips of Jisung's ear redden, expression like a deer caught in headlights. Jisung rubs his ears, side-eying Chenle, "Help? They've noticed me!" he whispers frantically.

Chenle, unable to hold it in anymore, lets out a laugh, sounding like twinkling bells and playful dolphins. 

**↺**

It's unnervingly quiet. It's only him and himself in his apartment. The view of his window shows a snowy city, and he assumes that it's already winter. It's not that it matters, anyway. Inner Neo City always remains the same no matter what, a mundane city under the guise of an extremely advanced one. 

Chenle doesn't recall ever seeing snow in this lifetime. Not even a single animal or plant, either. Sometimes there'll be rain, but he knows it's just a simulation.

He takes off his coat and hangs it on a hook near the door. He enters the kitchen and sees a plate of steaming hot food already prepared for him. The holographic clock on the wall signals that it's dinnertime. 

Sighing, he takes a seat, and starts shoveling food into his mouth. It tastes the same everyday; he's not surprised. 

The first time he regains his memories of his past lives, he wonders if he was born in an entirely different universe. The Higher Ups always preach about the Neo System, and how it _created_ humanity. Chenle knows this is bullshit, but only because he's had _actual_ pre-Neo era education. 

However, he knows it's the same earth that he has lived on for thousands of years. His biggest proof? Outer Neo City. It's the 'no man's land' of Neo City, the outskirts where there wasn't any technology you'd see in Inner Neo City. It's the kind of technology from the Old World, and from what his co-workers have said, he can safely conclude that yes, it's his earth.

By the time it's 10 P.M on the clock, the lights in his apartment dim, signalling that it's time to sleep.

-

He steps out of the apartment building, breathing in the cold air of the morning. The sky is a dull grey, like always. He misses the vibrant blues and oranges from before. It tugs at his heart. 

The streets are quiet, only the _click-clack_ of leather shoes and heels can be heard. It's like this everyday, the metro is jam-packed with people, yet muted. There's not even an ounce of music here. He misses the songs that he would watch Jisung dance to. The thought brings a smile to his face.

He gets off the metro, walking the route he's so very familiar with. Three blocks down, it's the NCT office. 

His job is simple and mundane. Writing reports and all that jazz. He works for the city's very own technology company, Neo Culture Technology. It's a supporting pillar for the city's success. 

-

"Mr. Zhong," A robotic voice calls. Chenle looks up from his computer, "Mr. Park would like to see you." 

Chenle stands up, patting down his garments. He takes the elevator up to Mr. Park's office 6 floors above his'. 

The elevator is super fast, bringing him up to his destination in mere seconds. 

The doors to the office slide open automatically to let Chenle in. 

"Oh, Mr Zhong," Mr. Park notes Chenle's presence in the room, "Take a seat, please." He gestures to an armchair. 

Chenle sits down, "Good morning sir," He says, nervous. It's rare that anyone in his department gets called to Mr. Park's office.

"Good morning," Mr. Park says, putting on a tight-lipped smile. 

"Is anything the matter, sir?" Chenle says politely, returning the smile, just as tense.

"Well, Mr. Zhong. You're our most hardworking employee here, and I'll get to the point. We'll be doing some developments in Outer Neo City, and I would like you to be the project manager,"

Chenle sits up straighter. Him? He was only a mere employee in the thousands of other more suitable ones. 

"May I ask, why did you select me, sir?" He asks, tentatively.

Mr. Park only smiles. "You're a great asset in our company, Mr. Zhong." 

-

Chenle approaches the ticket counter, asking for a ticket to Outer Neo City.

"Be safe out there," The ticketmaster cautions. Everyone knows about the people of Outer Neo City, how they have inadequate technology, causing them to become chaos incarnate. The Outers are a taboo topic, and are generally unspoken of, but everyone knows who they are.

He makes the payment through the chip in his arm, nodding to the ticketmaster. He boards the metro.

The ride takes longer than usual, and Chenle can see the familiar buildings of the city bleed out into barren wasteland. He's the only passenger, and it makes him feel less nervous.

The metro slowly halts, and the doors open. Chenle steps out, and he's hit with light brighter than he's ever seen before. He squints his eyes, using his hand to shield them. _Is this sunlight?_ He wonders. Looking up, he can see the blue hue of the sky through the glass windows. 

The station is a beige limestone building, with a domed glass roof. There's plants hanging from the walls and murals on the floor. Faint music hums from hidden speakers. Chenle's eyes sparkle. 

To him, it's like coming back to a world he's missed dearly. Even if the technology isn't the same, he still recognises those spinny gate things at the entrance of the station. And the plants, he hasn't seen the vibrant green of a leaf in a long while. 

The people milling around the station are colourful as well. Their clothes, hair— they even have _tattoos_ , which are deathly forbidden in Inner Neo City. He feels out of place with his monotonous clothing. 

He can feel the stares he gets from the people when he makes his way to the main database. Chenle doesn't mind, even if they start murmuring about him. 

The way to the main database is easy enough, he's lucky he knows how to read maps, because his GPS definitely doesn't work out here. He pens that down as a feature to be added.

-

"Hey, you. You're from Inner, right?" Someone says from behind him. Chenle startles from where he was crouched, examining the drains.

"Y-yes." He replies curtly. The owner of the voice is a handsome man with bright pink coloured hair manning a flower shop stall by the side of the road. 

"What's a lad like you doing here?" The man asks, and Chenle feels compelled to answer.

"I'm doing some research here, actually. We're planning to make some developments here in Outer Neo City." Chenle says smoothly, glad that he didn't stutter. 

The man frowns, "Development?" 

"Yes, we're hoping that Outer Neo City will be as technologized as Inner Neo City in the near future."

"We don't need that here," The man's gaze hardens.

"I'm sorry, but it's what the Higher Ups have decided. We can't stop them." Chenle bows his head.

The man is silent, a deep frown on his face. The plastic wrapping he's holding in his hand crinkles.

"—Yong! Taeyong!" There's a shout from down the street. They both turn their heads to a boy with bright blue hair running towards them. Chenle squints his eyes. Is that who he thinks it is?

"Jisung? What's wrong?" Taeyong asks, worried. 

"We— we got the seeds!" Jisung pants, bracing himself on his knees, trying to catch his breath. 

"Really?" Taeyong lights up immediately, "Where are they?"

"Mark's in the lab finalizing them right now, come on, you've gotta see them!" 

"Wait— but the shop!" 

Chenle clears his throat, "Seeds?" He asks, tilting his head.

Taeyong is reminded of his presence. "Of course. You're from Inner. You wouldn't know." He mutters bitterly.

"Chenle?" Jisung shouts from beside Taeyong. "You're here too?" 

"Good to see you again," Chenle smiles.

Taeyong bears an incredulous look on his face. "How do you know him? You've never stepped a foot into Inner," 

"Uh—" Jisung's at a loss of words for an excuse.

"I met him while doing research here previously," Chenle answers curtly. 

"Yeah! Yeah! Anyways, Yong! You have to see the flowers!" Jisung exclaims, like a whining child. "Chenle, do you want to come as well?" 

"What? No, he could snitch! You know how Inners are!" Taeyong says, adamant. 

"Come on, don't be like Doyoung. Chenle's a trustworthy guy," Jisung starts dragging the both of them towards a building.

-

"Did you bring Taeyong— Who's this?" Mark rounds the corner, holding a triangular flask full of purple liquid. 

The house is chock-full with plants, growing from hanging planters, from pots, and from random crevices in the walls. Chenle takes interest in the flowers immediately, reaching out to touch them.

"Don't touch that! This is Chenle, he's from Inner." Jisung introduces.

"Oh, hello," Mark stirs the liquid in the flask, "Wait, Inner?"

"Nice to meet you," Chenle almost says ' _again'_ before he stops himself.

Mark sends Taeyong and Jisung a questionable look, and Taeyong just shrugs back.

"Jisung, you can stay with him, Taeyong, you gotta see this," Mark disappears into a room, bead curtains hanging from the doorway. Taeyong follows shortly after. 

Chenle turns to Jisung. "So who are they?" 

"Taeyong's a friend of mine I met in an alley. We were both getting cornered, and he managed to save me. Mark's Taeyong's brother, so. Doyoung's not here now, but we met him on a research run," Jisung explains. "You're from Inner, right?" 

"Yeah. I'm an employee of NCT." Chenle sinks down on the couch. "It's so boring," He laments. 

"Really? I heard it was super technologically advanced." Jisung sets a cup of water down on the coffee table. 

Chenle sighs, "Everything's an endless cycle. Black, white, grey. We don't even have plants," He looks around at the various plants in the house, "Are you guys botanists or something?"

Jisung hums, thinking. "Yeah, I guess. We're trying to breed extinct plant species, but our main goal is to repopulate Neo City with plants." 

"That's nice," Chenle comments, sipping on the cup of water. His watch beeps, telling him that it's time to head back to Inner Neo City. 

"Oh, I'll have to go now," He stands up, ruffling Jisung's vibrant hair. "Maybe I'll come back during the weekend." 

"'Weekend, huh? Haven't heard that in a long time," Jisung hands Chenle a small rose bud, "Bye," He kisses the crown of Chenle's head. 

"Bye," Chenle repeats, tucking the rose bud into his jacket pocket, smiling. 

He whistles a melody as he walks back to the station.

-

Chenle walks out into the Outer station, coat hanging on his arm, hair not styled neatly, for once. 

He ends up at Taeyong's flower stall from before. Taeyong, as usual, is behind it, checking the flowers. 

"Hello!" Chenle greets. Taeyong puts on a smile before he realises who Chenle is. 

"You again? Researching? Isn't it the first break day today?" Taeyong lifts an eyebrow. 

"No, I'm here to visit Jisung," Chenle replies. 

Taeyong bears a surprised look on his face, he blinks, once, then twice. "What?" 

"I'm here to visit Jisung," Chenle repeats.

"No, no, I heard you the first time. Why?" 

"Well, I… just wanted to visit him again," Chenle scratches the back of his neck. 

"Listen here, Inner," Taeyong says, distrust evident in his voice, "I don't know what you're up to, but I won't let you use Jisung for whatever research you're conducting? Alright?" 

"But— That's not what—" Chenle is cut off by Taeyong gesturing for him to leave. 

Chenle pouts, knowing that Taeyong won't relent. He then groans, because he wasted a trip to Outer, and those tickets were _expensive._

He decides to take a walk around Outer, instead. (and if he hopes that he'll meet Jisung coincidentally, that's a thought for no one but him to know.)

-

"Good job, Mr. Zhong!" Mr Park congratulates Chenle as he walks down the hallway. Chenle blinks in confusion. _What?_

"I'm sorry, b-but what are you congratulating me for, sir?" Chenle asks, because as far as he knows, he hasn't submitted even the first draft of the development plan for Outer Neo City. 

"For ensuring that Neo City will be a place where everything is equal, of course!" Mr Park smiles, and Chenle thinks it's creepy.

"What did I do, sir?" Beads of cold sweat are forming at the back of his neck. 

"You helped us identify those rascals who were going around sticking plants wherever!" Mr Park laughs heartily, "Your acting was amazing!" 

Chenle, laughs, hollowly, eyes shaking. "H-how did you know, sir?" 

"Oh, didn't you know? There's a special device in your wrist chip that allows us to follow you every move! Thanks to you, we've managed to detain them and they're now awaiting punishment, actually." Mr Park chuckles. 

Chenle freezes up, shock coursing through his body. His heart seizes up, his throat tight. He nearly chokes.

Mr Park pats his shoulder, and walks away, muttering to himself. 

Chenle leans against the wall, hands curled into a fist, nails digging craters into his palms. _Fuck._

**↺**

"And the winner is Omen!" Chenle hears the robotic voice announce from the loudspeakers. He thrusts his fist up in victory, smiling behind his helmet. Puffs of confetti litter down on the racetrack, cheers sounding from the bleachers. 

He's immediately swarmed by people— reporters, fans, you name it all. He can hear shouts of "Can I get an autograph?" and "How do you feel tonight winning your 5th consecutive race?" He scratches the back of his neck, unsure how to answer. 

Then, a familiar voice booms from the edge of the crowd. The crowd parts, to reveal a short man, not really intimidating, marching towards Chenle.

"The money has been wired to your card," Renjun, his manager, says through his mask, switching off his voice amplifier. 

"Oh, how much did I win?" Chenle asks, getting off his motorcycle and pushes it towards an exit. The crowd naturally parts, allowing them to leave. 

"About a hundred thousand," Renjun flicks the hologram projecting from his wrist, "I still don't get why you don't want to use a chip, those cards are _flimsy."_

Chenle pulls out the card from his back pocket, holding it up in the artificial light, "It works, though. I'm definitely not going to get a chip,"

Renjun chuckles, "You literally have artificial limbs, but you don't want to use a chip?" He knocks lightly on Chenle's helmet still on his head. "Okay, _Omen._ "

Chenle sighs, and gets onto his motorcycle one they've reached the main road, "Do you want a ride?" 

Renjun shakes his head, "No, I'll head home by myself. Good luck out there,"

"You too," It may seem weird to tell someone _good luck_ on a normal day _,_ but to Renjun and Chenle, it means everything to them. Ever since Chenle got into an accident on the road and caused him to lose an arm and a leg, Renjun had started saying it. And Chenle went with it, obviously, to calm his distraught friend.

He kicks back the kickstand and zooms off, leather jacket flowing in the wind. Wind tickles his skin as he weaves through the throngs of cars. In this life, he decided, this is what he lives for. 

-

There's a new rookie climbing the charts. He goes by Fate, and his skills are unlike the others. They say he's able to analyse and pass through the narrowest of obstacles, speeding through the whole track. 

It's big news in Neo City's underground racing community. There hasn't been such a skilled rider since Omen. 

Honestly, Chenle's impressed at the videos he's seen circulating around the internet of Fate. He has a certain grace to him, and Chenle's intrigued.

He looks at the rookie, Fate, sizing him up. He's noticed that Fate's slightly nervous from all the fidgeting he's doing. Chenle decides to pay him mind as he hears the referee's robotic voice, focusing on the stretch of asphalt ahead. 

" _Three!_ " Chenle takes in a deep breath, 

" _Two!_ " He revs his engine, feeling the motorcycle under him vibrate to life.

" _One!_ " And he's off.

He shoots off in a millisecond, heart pumping. Adrenaline flows through his veins, and he leans forward. On this racetrack, the only thing that matters is himself.

Swerving past a sudden obstacle, he almost touches the ground. Another one comes up almost immediately. Seems like this race is a tough one.The thought of this only makes him want to win.

He speeds up. 

-

He gets second place, only by half a second. The winner is Fate, the monster rookie. Chenle isn't bothered by this one bit. He knows he'd get dethroned one day. 

"What a poor guy," He tells Renjun. Renjun looks up from his holophone, making a sound of confusion, asking him to elaborate, "He's being swarmed right now, he doesn't even have a manager," 

Renjun squints at the guy in the middle of the large crowd, "Wow, yeah." He snickers. "Let's go save him," He grabs Chenle's wrist and drags him towards the crowd.

Pressing the back of his neck, Renjun activates his voice amplifier. "Excuse me, excuse me, coming through," Chenle's shoved to the front, and he half-pouts half-glares at Renjun. 

"H-hello?" Fate's right in front of him, and Chenle realises that he's pretty tall. His hands are constantly at his neck, scratching to get underneath his helmet. Chenle thinks that he's probably a prodigy deciding to race on an impulse. 

Then, suddenly, they're both jerked back, and before they know it, they're being pulled away.

"What? Jun?" Chenle sputters. Renjun drags the two to a corner of the bleachers. He elbows Chenle, "Oh, I mean, _Art_ ,"

"Um," Fate speaks up. He stays silent for a while when both Chenle and Renjun turn to look at him. "Who are you guys?" 

For once, Chenle doesn't know how to answer. Someone who doesn't recognize him? _Omen?_

"I'm Art, and this is Omen," Renjun decides to step in and save Chenle from his eternal dilemma. 

"Omen? You're the guy they were talking about!" 

"Yeah, it's really predictable of them, really," Chenle sighs. Those reporters really were ruthless, searching for fresh gossip every time.

"They're reporters, right? Why are there so many of them? Isn't this," He pauses to look for the right word, "illegal?" 

Chenle stares at Fate, dumbfounded. He _really_ is a rookie— no, a _newbie_. 

"You— you don't know?" 

"What am I supposed to know?" 

Chenle's jaw drops further. 

"Racing isn't exactly legal, but the government doesn't really care," Renjun explains.

Fate seems to think for a while, "The government either cares too much, or doesn't care at all, huh?" He says to himself. 

Chenle recalls how Neo City had once been separated into two, where everyone had to follow the rules. Disobey, and you're sent for punishment. He wonders how the city changed to become the way it is now, in between his reincarnations. 

"Say, do you want to go have dinner with us?" Chenle asks. He's decided that Fate doesn't seem too intimidating nor like someone who'd betray a friend easily. He smiles, and his expression projects onto the pixels on the outside of his helmet.

Renjun nudges him, whispering to him, "What?" 

In Neo City, having someone know your identity, or your face, it's a big beacon for trouble. With the minimal amount of rules implemented, and the advanced technology in the wrong hands, someone could steal your identity. That's why Chenle goes by Omen, and Renjun as Art. 

"I think he's trustworthy, I mean, who can be _this_ dumb about racing?" Chenle whispers to Renjun.

Renjun stays silent for a while, "...God damn it, I keep forgetting you don't have a fucking mind chip as well," He curses. "I dunno, 'Le, you know we can't trust anyone, here," They know firsthand what would happen if Fate turned out to be— for lack of better word— _bad_. 

"Yeah, but you trusted _me_." Chenle says, remembering the first time he met Renjun, when he was just a small teenager wandering the streets of Neo. 

Renjun sighs, giving in,"Okay, fine, let's go for dinner." 

-

In this era of Neo City, dining out is a private affair. Tables are blocked off by walls, and the waiters are all robots. The only humans are the chefs. 

The three of them slide into a booth in the corner of a ramen shop. They fiddle a bit with the menu, managing to place their orders with the little holographic screen embedded into the wall. 

There's a tense silence as they wait for their food. 

Renjun decides to take off his mask, the velcro straps making a noise. He fully exposes his face to Chenle and Fate. 

"Hi, I'm Renjun," He introduces, extending a hand for Fate to shake, "Or, better known as Art." 

Fate's visibly flustered for a moment, hands not knowing where to go. Eventually, he shakes Renjun's hand as Renjun and Chenle stare on expectantly. 

Hesitantly, Fate reaches up to his helmet, pulling it straight off his head. He raises a hand to tossle his blond hair, "Hi, I'm Park Jisung," 

"Park? You have a last name?" Renjun asks, astonished. People usually don't even have last names, just going with the names they were registered with.

"Well, yes," Jisung scratches the back of his neck, looking at Chenle, wary of the last unknown face. 

Chenle quickly pulls off his helmet with a little struggle, unused to removing it without care. His face scrunches up as he's finally free from the helmet, and he shakes his head to loosen up his hair. 

"I'm Zhong Chenle," He says to Jisung, looking into his eyes. Jisung's mouth drops into an 'o' shape.

" _Zhong?_ You never told me you had a last name!" Renjun exclaims.

"Yeah, well, you never asked!" Chenle deflects. 

"Wait, Chenle? _You're_ Omen?" Jisung interrupts. 

Renjun buries his face in his hands, "How do _you_ know Chenle?" He turns to Chenle, "And you! You're supposed to tell people your last name when introducing yourself," His voice tilts up, as if asking a question. "Oh my God, this is a mess,"

In this era of Neo City, dining out is a private affair. Usually. But here they are, Chenle, Jisung and Renjun, sharing facts about each other. Nothing private at all. Chenle and Jisung manage to bullshit about their relationship under Renjun's persistent questions, and Renjun had to put up with Jisung and Chenle's banters.

Definitely a bonding night. 

-

The lights shine on them again, back on the familiar road. With a flick of the wrist, Chenle's motorcycle rumbles to life. He spares a glance at Jisung behind his helmet, sending a small smile. He can't see Jisung's face, but he does see him sending a small thumbs up. 

With a loud honk of the horn, they're off, racing at the speed of light. 

Tried and true, to race alongside Jisung, _this_ is what he really lives for. 

In this life, he loves two things. 

**↺**

The world Chenle is so familiar with gradually, eventually ascends into chaos. Radiation levels have been skyrocketing through the roof due to the recent nuclear plant collapses. There's barely anyone outside. The skies are a weird yellow, clouds grey, but there hasn't been rainfall in ages. 

"Hey, Chenle, break's almost over, I'll be going back now," His co-worker, Donghyuck, says. 

"Mm," Chenle mumbles out a response, picking at his food. Donghyuck tilts his head, brows furrowed. 

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" He asks. 

"Aerostat didn't accept my paper," Chenle groans, pushing the tray of food away, "I spent _days_ writing that!" 

"The balloon boys or Aero-statistics?" Donghyuck asks. 

"Aero-statistics," Chenle rests his head on his arms.

Donghyuck makes a face of disgust, "Ew, _that_ Aerostat," He shudders, "Hate them," 

"I know, right? I think they have a superiority complex," Chenle cringes.

"It's just _statistics,_ bro. What are they so pressed for?" Donghyuck stands up, grabbing his tray, "Anyways, I really gotta write the code for N-127's propeller. See ya!" 

"Bye," Chenle waves in return, watching Donghyuck run out of the cafeteria. 

He and Donghyuck are both Aerospace engineers, cooped up in the vast headquarters of WeiShen Corp, a leading company in the field of Aeronautics. They're both taking part in Project Take Off, where they're hoping to advance humanity into space. The world is on the brink of ending, anyways. 

Chenle returns his tray, and heads out to the cafeteria, through the many hallways with big windows, and into the lab. 

Swinging his keycard around, he greets the people in the same room. There's Dejun, YangYang and Ten, all engineers as well. 

"Yo, Le! Do you have the code for CC-51? I think I lost it," YangYang asks him, typing away on thin air, eyes trained on the holographic screen in front of him.

"It's because your files are all so disorganized," Dejun quips. YangYang shoots him a glare, while Ten snorts.

"I might have them, which part do you want?" Chenle slips on his TouchRings, allowing him to interact with the holographic screen they call _Domino_ , created and used by employees of WeiShen Corp. 

"The control panel," YangYang clarifies. 

Chenle checks through a few files, "Oh yeah, I have them. I'll send it to you," With a few taps of the screen, it's sent to YangYang. 

"Thanks, man! I owe it to you," YangYang beams. 

"Right, you're good at statistics, right? Can you help me with my Aerostat paper?"

-

Chenle looks into the dark expanse of space through the telescope. He observes the many stars and planets of space, observing even the smallest rock. 

He sneaks into the observatory whenever he wants to get his mind off of things, by focusing on the beauty of space instead. 

He spots an asteroid orbiting around Mars, and the A.I in the telescope tells him it's JS-871. 

It reminds him of Jisung, the one who came crashing into his life, with him through all the lifetimes they had. If this was an experiment, they'd be the controlled variables. 

Chenle giggles at the little thought, sound echoing through the empty room. He sighs, looking at the huge glass wall in front of him. Vast darkness spreads over, not a moving thing in sight. 

He sings a tune that the rest of the world used to know,

_"You're my missing puzzle piece,"_

-

It's finally here. The big day. Where they'd launch their very first colony into space, Hopefully being able to find a new planet to settle on.

A celebration is held for everyone in WeiShen, and the very few people in the colony. The celebration is broadcasted worldwide, allowing the whole world to see. 

It's a long day filled with festivities, one of the launch ports converted into a party area. Chenle stands at the side, cackling at YangYang and Donghyuck's antics on the dance floor. 

"I can't believe we're finally launching this bad boy!" Dejun shouts over the music.

"We worked so hard on it," Ten says, sipping on a glass of wine.

The lights start to dim, and everyone looks towards the makeshift stage, where it shines the brightest. A figure walks onto it. It's WeiShen's founder. 

"Good day, folks. I'm Qian Kun, the founder of WeiShen Corp." Everyone claps.

"Tonight is a very special night, for we are launching our very first colony into space, through our spaceship, coded and made by our workers at WeiShen. This project included a wide range of teams, that worked together to create this spaceship. It's safe to say that we are definitely anticipating success." He continues.

"The future is now. We will fly without wings, let us Take Off." He finishes, and there are cheers erupting, fists thrusting up, claps deafening. 

The first colony boards the ship, and Chenle presses against the glass railing to get a better look. This gives him déjà vu, back to when he was boarding the steamship to London. 

The engine is turned on, causing a loud rumble. The strip lights light up one by one, illuminating the port. 

"This is so cool," He hears YangYang's awestruck whisper. 

The thrusters blast fire out, a massive heatwave befalls the area. 

"It's happening!" Donghyuck says, excited. 

Then Chenle notices a flash of lightning around one of the ship's outer panels. _Wait, that shouldn't be happening_ , 

A blindingly bright light fills their visions, and Chenle reflexively shields his eyes. In a millisecond, the panel explodes, sending shrapnel across the port. Chenle coughs out as he feels some hit him. There's a sharp pain, and everything turns black as he falls to the floor. 

The very next day, the news websites all have the same article: _Freak Accident at WeiShen Corp's Big Release! "No Survivors," Paramedics Say._

**↺**

"Chenle! To your left!" Someone calls out. He looks to his left, hair whipping in the wind. Locking a spear in place, vision in slo-mo, he shoots. 

It hits his target spot-on, piercing through it and splattering green blood all over his goggles. He wipes a sleeve to clean it. 

Panting heavily, he loads another spear, aiming at another Mutant. It goes down as well, he's not Nighthand Sanctum's ace Shooter for nothing.

"Nice one, team!" Fighter Captain Valen congratulates them, "Seems by the look of it, there won't be any more Mutants in this area for a while. You're dismissed, have a good rest." 

"Thank you, team!" They all chorus as a closing ment. The butchers flood onto the battlefield, hauling the Mutant cadavers back to the Sanctum for a source of meat. 

Chenle hauls himself and his weapon onto a jeep, already loaded with other Fighters. It rolls along underground, back to Nighthand Sanctum.

-

The spear rips through the air, embedding itself into the target board. Chenle lowers his crossbow-like weapon, ready to load another spear. 

"That's a great shot, Chenle." A familiar voice says. Chenle startles, spinning around to face the person. It's Fighter Captain Valen.

She leans on the railing seperating them and the void in between the target boards. 

"How may I help you, Captain Valen?" Chenle fiddles with the trigger of his weapon. 

"We're holding a get-together tonight, we're showing the new recruits the ropes. Wanna join?" The Captain asks.

Chenle doesn't really know why she's asking him personally, when all of them have been notified of this. "Yeah, I'm thinking of going, why?" 

"Oh, it's just," She quiets down, and after a moment, "The new recruits are your age, fresh from Battle School, and you're so young, yet so experienced."

"I'm nineteen? Don't they graduate at nineteen?" Chenle asks.

" _Most_ of them do. But you've been a Fighter for four years." Valen says.

"And?" 

She stutters, taken aback by Chenle's reply, "I'm saying, you've been a Fighter since you were fifteen, right? Don't you ever think that you want out? Four years is a long time, being a Fighter— in the Shooter department, no less— is a risky job." 

Oh. It clicks in Chenle's mind. She's scared of losing their best Shooter. He sends a small smile to her.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere, if that's what you're asking," He says, straight forward. 

She gapes at him, and he continues, "I've been doing this for years now, ever since the late Captain Seo picked me up, it's not like I have anything else to do," 

The silence continues. Chenle shifts his weight on the balls of his feet, rocking back and forth. "I'll… I'll get going now," he nods, grabbing his weapon, heading out of the door. 

-

"Oh, Chenle! Over here!" He sees a hand waving him over to a table. It's Yuta, another Fighter. He cracks a smile and scurries over to the table, already occupied with some of his friends. 

The Fighter get-togethers are quite rare, only happening a select few times, like when new recruits join, or after a big battle.

Sitting down, he's offered a mug, filled with white liquid. "It's milk, the farmers had extra today, so they offered us some," Yuta explains. 

Gasping, Chenle chugs down the drink, making a noise of satisfaction as he finishes it. "This is delicious!" 

Yuta smiles fully, ruffling his hair. His eyes widen as he looks behind Chenle, waving his hand around. Chenle looks back and sees Sicheng at the edge of the crowd. "Winwin!" Yuta shouts. 

Sicheng makes his way to the table, sitting down beside Yuta. Yuta pushes a mug of milk towards him, planting a kiss on his cheek. 

"Ey, what's with you today? So happy," Sicheng sighs as he drinks his milk. 

"I think he's drunk," Chenle pipes up. 

Sicheng side-eyes Yuta, "Typical,"

"Hey, I'm right here?" Yuta pouts, faking sadness. 

Sicheng ignores him, "When are the new recruits coming?" 

"Around eight, I think. Hey, Chenle, you'll finally find some friends your age!" Yuta nudges Chenle, smiling. 

"Oh, yeah, I can't wait to see them, honestly," Chenle says, fingers drumming the table. 

"Our little Lele's going to have some friends now!" Sicheng ruffles his hair, making it stick up messily. Chenle scoffs, pretending to be annoyed. 

They get greeted by a few other Fighters holding plates with heaps of meat. The Fighters sit down, sharing the food with them. Before they know it, they're pulled into a conversation, laughter racking the table. 

-

"Oh! Here they come!" Someone points out. They all look up, at the hoard of people coming down the grand staircase. They're the new recruits, Chenle realises. They've clearly been separated into their departments already— Swinger, Shooter, Tanker, and Supporter. They wear the coloured armbands signifying their departments. 

Some of them look timid, scared, while some others look straight-up cocky. Chenle stays quiet, observing the group. He's seen this ceremony at least three times, now. 

They new recruits make their way down the staircase, led by none other than Fighter Captain Valen. Some teachers from the various Battle Schools lurk behind the group.

The group stops at the end of the staircase, and while they're mostly expressionless, Chenle can see the glint of awe in their eyes. Captain Valen opens her mouth to make a speech, one Chenle and the others have heard so much they've probably memorised it. 

He takes in the faces of his new teammates, glad to not be the youngest Fighter, for once. 

The speech (Chenle really wants to tell Captain Valen to change it up every now and then, but he'd rather keep his head,) _finally_ ends, and the new recruits are released into the crowd, being introduced to the Fighters. 

Some of them are already making fast friends, while others stay in their respective groups, feeling shy to interact with the others. Chenle remembers how he felt when he was only fifteen, too small and too shy. 

Yuta finds a group that's talking in the corner, all fresh graduates. "Hey!" He waves wildly, "You guys!" 

The group stares at Yuta, intimidated. Sicheng sighs, "Nice to meet you guys," He starts, "I'm Sicheng, and these two are Yuta and Chenle," 

A boy speaks up, "I'm Songhyuk, um, this is August," He gestures to a dimpled boy, "Rii," A girl with shockingly pink short hair, "and Jisung," Chenle does a double take. His heart swells.

"You're the new recruits, right? Chenle over here is the same age as you, he doesn't have much friends your age," Yuta says.

"I'm eighteen, actually," Jisung raises his hand tentatively. 

Rii shoves his hand down, "We're not in school, anymore, dummy," 

Chenle looks at them, and an uneasy feeling pools at the bottom of his stomach. 

"It doesn't matter, come, sit down," Sicheng tells them. 

Jisung takes the seat beside Chenle, at the very end of the bench, "Hi," he whispers. 

"Hello," Chenle replies, reaching out to hold Jisung's hand under the table. 

"Where were you? Last life," Jisung asks, "I tried looking for you,"

"I worked at WeiShen," He says, "I'm not sure if it was big news—" 

"No way, you were in _the_ WeiShen freak accident?" Jisung's eyes widen.

"Yeah, is that what it was called? I dunno, really," Chenle scratches the back of his neck. 

"Well, let's introduce each other? I'm Sicheng, a Supporter," Sicheng tries to get them to get familiarised. 

"I'm a Swinger," Yuta goes next, gesturing to Chenle next.

Chenle takes it as his que to speak up, "I'm a Shooter," 

Songhyuk, the boy with an undercut, continues, "I'm a Shooter, as well," 

"Ji and I are both Swingers," Rii, the pink haired girl says, nudging the dimpled boy— August, beside her.

"I'm a Tanker," He says, simply. 

"No one here's a Supporter, huh? Anyways, I look forward to working with you guys," Sicheng raises his cup for a toast, and they all comply.

-

Chenle and Jisung have escaped to one of the ledges overlooking the open marketplace. 

"Y'know, I've never seen you around Nighthand Sanctum before," Jisung says, fidgeting with Chenle's fingers as they lean on the railing. 

Chenle hums, "I've been a Fighter since I was fifteen, I've never really bothered to explore, to be honest," 

"Fifteen?" Jisung blinks, his black hair getting in the way of his eyes. "You're not even allowed to enroll in Battle School till sixteen!" 

"I know, but late Captain Seo thought I'd be a good shooter, so he trained me in four months, and look where I am now," Chenle explains. 

"I heard you're the ace Shooter, if you did that in four months…" Jisung trails off, thinking. 

"I was here for four years, I wasn't the best during the first two," Chenle deadpans, "Plus, it's a little exaggerated. I'm not that good." 

"Sure, we'll see during battle," Jisung teases. Chenle shoves him playfully, snickering. 

"Anyways, I know you'll be a great swinger," 

"Oh? Why's that so?" Jisung leans closer to Chenle, staring at him. 

"Boo, 'Why's that so'? What are you? From Inner Neo City? The 20th century? That's _old_ talk," Chenle mocks. Jisung's face falls into a pout, and Chenle desperately wants to kiss it away. 

And he does, reaching up to cup Jisung's face, he gives the lightest peck on the lips. "You used to dance with so much grace and power. It's similar to wielding a blade, swinging and dodging, y'know?" He mimics swinging a knife around. 

Jisung, red faced, sputters an incomprehensible mess. "Oh, yeah, I did feel that Swinging was similar to dancing," He avoids Chenle's teasing glint in his eyes, looking the other way. 

"Come on, what's wrong?" Chenle giggles, "It's not like I've never kissed you before,"

Jisung only turns redder, which seemed impossible until now. "It took me off guard, I guess," He says, flustered.

Chenle laughs loudly, wrapping his arms around Jisung's slender body, engulfing him in a hug. 

-

"'Sung! Are you done packing? Hurry up, we gotta go!" Chenle shouts at Jisung's hunched figure. 

"Hold on, I need to find the Radiation-Packs," Jisung replies. Chenle hums in acknowledgement, looking over the railings to see the other Fighters already loading their baggage up the jeeps. Jisung comes just in time, and they dash down the stairs. 

"Team!" Captain Valen calls out, "This journey is like no other, alright? We're venturing into the unknown, so we _cannot_ play any games, I want you all to take this mission seriously." 

"If it all goes well, we'll be able to figure out the Mutant's breeding grounds, and we'll manage to destroy the Mutants from the root, is that clear?" She briefs. 

"Yes!" The group choruses in unison. They load the jeeps one by one, plopping down into their seats. 

Chenle sighs. He hasn't been this nervous in a while. Jisung senses his predicament, and reaches out to hold Chenle's hand tightly. He relaxes as Jisung's hand interlocks with his.

The trip takes a day at their fastest speed. It's shorter than they expected, but it's a welcome surprise. 

The whole group— about fifty Fighters— stands in front of the mouth of the Mutant cave. It's a jagged mess of rocks, spider-web like strings covering it. There's glimpses of red substance covering the walls, and Chenle gets an idea of what happened to those that came in unprepared. 

"We charge, now!" Captain Valen shouts, and it's wrong move number one. 

The sound echoes through the cave, awakening the Mutants. One shows up, hissing. The rest follow behind. It's a swarm. 

"Shit," One of Chenle's teammates say, hurriedly loading a spear and shooting. It hits the first Mutant in the eye, and it falls to the ground. Wrong move number two. 

The rest of the Mutants become enraged, screeching at the loss of one of their kind. They charge forward, fangs bared, claws sharp. 

"Brace yourselves!" Captain Valen shouts out, brandishing her blade, which glints in the faint light. 

She swings, prompting the others to do the same. 

-

Chenle tries to wipe off the green blood off his goggles, but he ends up smearing it. He wipes harder, and it runs off. Just a little. It's fine anyways, he doesn't have time to think about it. 

He narrowly dodges a swipe from a Mutant, turning around to shoot it in the head. 

He loads another spear— an explosive one, this time, and aims at the hoard of upcoming Mutants. It detonates, sending a wave of green above their heads. 

It's a mess, and Chenle is no stranger to it. Piles Corpses lay on the floor, some Mutant, some humans. 

He pays a blind eye, shooting spears over and over again, a routine he's familiar with. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jisung fending off three Mutants at once.

He quickly loads another spear, shooting right at one of the Mutants. Jisung's surprised at the action, turning around, eyes wide, pinpointing Chenle. 

Rule One of the Fighters: _Never let your guard down._

He's tackled down by a Mutant, tumbling to the ground. It goes for his neck. 

"Fuck, _Jisung!"_ Chenle screams, voice hoarse. He aims and shoots. It hits the target, but the target is faster. A large chunk is gone from Jisung's neck already. 

Chenle runs over to Jisung, dropping to his knees, shaking him. 

"Sorry," Jisung breathes out. 

" _What_ do you have to be sorry for, you fool?" Chenle chokes out, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. 

"For letting my guard down," Jisung's voice fades out, and he goes still, eyes glazed over.

"No, Jisung! No," The last word turns out a whisper, fading like his hope. The medics can't revive Jisung, it's too late— _he_ was too late. 

**↺**

Chenle strolls on the soft sand, watching the waves lap on the shore. It paints a beautiful picture: the discoloured sky sitting above the brown water. Like a surreal dream he had. The sun scorches his bare face; it's simply too hot to handle wearing protective gear. He's probably the last person alive on this earth, anyways. It's not like he has a legacy to continue. 

He'd witnessed the fall of civilization and humanity a few years prior, when things finally came to an end. 

For a while he explored, roaming the empty streets of cities he once knew were the most populated. The places he was most familiar with, although crumbled down to nothing but dust. All familiar, but not, at the same time.

Now he's here, all alone, basking in the last few days of earth. 

As he looks at the waves, he remembers the very first time. When it all started, back in the flower field. He's survived all of this, and alas, everything has an end. 

But as he reminisces every single lifetime he's had, all the things he's done— with _him,_ with Jisung, going through the ups and downs of life— It sounds cheesy, but, if he's with Jisung, he's not afraid of anything. 

He thinks, for what may be the very last time, _I'd go through a thousand more lifetimes for you._

The world engulfs in a white, burning light, blinding him instantly. All he knows is blown away, the world he's been on is finally ending. 

In his place leaves only silence, and a thin, glinting, thread of hope. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**↻**

At the age of 8, Chenle experienced going on stage for the first time. He's nervous, shaking. Although he's supposed to perform with several other kids, it doesn't relieve the uneasy feeling he has. 

The camera focuses on him, and he tenses up. He forgets to smile, petrified. He barely gets the lyrics out of his mouth. 

After the performance, the producer approaches his vocal trainer, and says in a loud, brash voice, "How could you bring such an incompetent kid and make him perform?" 

The words make his heart crack, his lips start trembling. 

"Ma," He whispers to his mother, "I don't want to sing anymore," 

-

At the age of 10, Chenle is a child prodigy. He'd gone on so many programs, like China's Got Talent, and even performed 'Memory' in the Vienna New Year Concert 2011.

His vocal trainer starts encouraging him even more, not wanting to let his talents go to waste. From there, like a phoenix reborn, his passion for singing reignites.

At the age of 11, He's invited to perform in an International Children's Concert along with two other boys, to sing 'You raise me up'. 

As he waits patiently in the dressing room, playing Flappy Bird on his IPod, he notices a boy staring at him from afar. 

The boy approaches him, and Chenle realises that it's the boy from Korea that was going to perform, too. 

The boy stutters out a greeting in broken Chinese, and he holds out his very own IPod for Chenle to see. Belatedly, he realises that their IPods were the exact same colour of blue. 

Chenle giggles as they lifted up their IPods for each other to see. 

"Same colour," He says in English. The boy blinks, before he nods vigorously. A smile is plastered on his face, gums fully showing. 

Chenle thinks that this boy is cute, like, in a 'I-want-to-squish-your-cheeks-so-badly' cute. 

They end up play-fighting, using their fingers to re-enact tigers and lions, pouncing on top of each other. It becomes a jumbled mess, and they crack up in laughter. 

-

At the age of 14, Chenle gets scouted by SM Entertainment. 

"Lele? Do you know who this is? They emailed me asking you to 'audition'..." His mother approaches him one day, showing him an email on her phone screen.

He squints at the screen, but he has no idea who 'SM' is, or what they wanted with him. "No, maybe it's a scam or something?" 

"Hm. You're right. There's many scams going around these days," His mother walks away, muttering to herself.

The emails kept coming, so they decided to ask Chenle's father if he knew what was going on.

"Oh, SM Entertainment?" His voice tints with recognition, "They're a company in Korea. They train and debut K-pop idols,"

"K-pop idols?" Chenle wonders out loud, "Why are they looking for me, then?" 

"EXO is one of their groups, they have Chinese members too, no?" 

"Wah, Lele, do you want to try becoming a K-pop idol?" His mother asks him. 

He thinks for a moment. "Sure, why not?" He shrugs. At least he'd still be able to sing, or make some cool friends along the way.

-

He stands in front of a large building with 'SM Entertainment" displayed proudly. 

He's a little nervous, he has to admit— he doesn't even know basic Korean. He absentmindedly stares at the surroundings of the building. He'd only been here once, when he went to sign the trainee contract, but that was only in some conference room he was dragged to. 

A representative and a translator greets him and his mother when they walk in. They chat for a while, and Chenle starts to focus his attention on the lobby, taking a look at the place. Another person is introduced to them, the trainee manager, from what he understands. 

They finally stop talking and he gets ushered off to the practice rooms. Chenle quickly gives a short hug to his mother before following the manager into a hallway, lined with numerous rooms. 

She stops in front of a door, prompting Chenle to stop as well. He can hear the faint notes of music from behind the door. 

His heartbeat quickens, he's about to meet the rest of the trainees for the first time. 

"This is one of our practice rooms. Some of our trainees are having a class right now. Since this is your first day, you do not need to join the class, alright?" The manager says in a heavily accented tone. She leads Chenle in, interrupting the practice. 

The trainees are not at all fazed by this, continuing to dance in perfect synchronization. Chenle gasps, looking at them. _That's so cool!_ He thinks, starstruck. _I want to be like them, too!_

She leads them to another group of trainees all sitting down in the corner, presumably resting. They're chatting with each other all engrossed in conversation. 

The manager clears her throat, and they all turn their heads to her, greeting her. They then notice Chenle, who's beside her. 

"H-hello," He stammers out. He looks at the manager, sending a look of pleading. 

"This is our new trainee, Zhong Chenle. He's from China, so he might not understand much Korean. I expect all of you to help him out, understood?" She says, and Chenle barely understands the sentence, but the trainees all nod their heads and shout an affirmation. 

"Alright, I'll be leaving you guys be, then." She takes a look at the dancing trainees, before leaving. Chenle can only look at her retreating figure in helplessness. There's a few whispers before someone finally speaks up.

"Hi, I'm Renjun, Huang Renjun." One of them says in Chinese. Chenle snaps his head to look at him, shocked yet relieved at the familiar language. 

"You speak Chinese too? Are you from China as well?" He asks, eyes wide. 

"Yes, I'm from Jilin," Renjun answers, smiling. Chenle notes that he has a little snaggletooth. It's cute. 

"Oh! I'm from Shanghai!" He says excitedly, glad that he isn't completely alone in SM. 

"Come, I'll introduce you to the others," He says, gesturing for Chenle to sit down with him. 

-

It's only when Chenle's set in the debut lineup when he's able to finally relax. 

He's been practicing so much to get on par with the others who've been practicing for years. So when he gets the message that he'd be set to debut, he's exhilarated, yet relieved at the same time. 

It was exhausting, the training was no joke at SM, competing with so many other more experienced kids at the same time. Even if he's had years of singing experience, he'd had zero dance skills. 

He can interact with his groupmates more now that the debut lineup was announced. He was already close with Renjun, and some other Chinese trainees, but the Korean ones? He's only interacted with them a few times. 

There's Mark, who tries to teach him Korean, but ends up using English instead. And Donghyuck, which was almost always with Mark, so they talked a few times. Jaemin was pretty friendly to him even though there was a language barrier, and Jeno just smiles nicely at him. Jisung and him communicate through body language, although he's been teaching Chenle Korean recently, which helps a lot. 

He tentatively sits down beside the members, who were in a circle on the floor chatting. They seem to acknowledge him, but continue on chatting. Jaemin's hands flail around, and Chenle realises he's telling a story.

"They're talking about their dreams," Renjun explains to him. Chenle nods his head in understanding. 

_Oh! I could share some stories too!_ He thinks. Recently he's been having some weird dreams that he remembers _too_ vividly. 

"I-I had some interesting dreams, too," He speaks up. Immediately, all attention is on him, and he shrinks a little under the attention. 

"I, um, I was a prince!" He manages, "And there was this boy, I think he was my…" he trails of, trying to find the right word, "best friend," 

"Woah, you? A prince? I could see that happening," Donghyuck says. The others all agree, and he blushes a little. 

"Then, there was a s— what's the word for 'sickness'?" He directs the last part to Renjun in Chinese. Renjun translates for him.

"Ah, a sickness. I went to a village, and I got sick," He pauses for dramatic effect, "and then I died." 

"Aish, that was so anti-climatic!" Donghyuck sighs, while Jeno giggles in the background. 

Chenle turns to Renjun for the explanation for 'anti-climatic' when Jisung speaks up as well. 

"Woah, I think I had a similar dream," Jisung says, surprised. 

They all look at him, prompting to go on. "I had a friend who was a prince, and then there was a sickness, and he died,"

"That sounds like you were in the same dream," Mark ponders. 

"Right, Chenle, you said you had a best friend, and Jisungie— you had a friend who was a prince, right?" Jaemin adds on, "Wow, this is interesting," 

"Hey, what if they were your past lives, and you two knew each other!" Renjun suddenly speaks up, sitting up. 

"Renjun, I think you're going too far," Jeno says. Renjun scowls. 

_Past lives?_ Chenle wonders, that's a plausible idea. He's had a few dreams like these before, all different scenarios, but the same boy. He saves that thought for later. 

-

"Aigoo, our Jisung is so cute!" Jaemin says as they monitor the shots they took for the Chewing Gum music video. He pinches Jisung's cheeks, while the tips of Jisung's ears turn red. 

"Look at his ears! It turned red!" Donghyuck points out, teasingly.

"Ah, but Jisung really is cute," Mark says, and they all laugh out loud.

Chenle giggles along with them, and he'll admit: Jaemin and Mark weren't wrong.

-

It's not until his seventh dream he realises that, Renjun may be right. 

It's been a year since that conversation, and they've already debuted, but he remembers it clearly. 

In the dream, he was talking to a boy— that he assumes is the same boy in every other dream. The words they spoke, Chenle realises, connects with the previous dream, the sixth one. He tries to recall the previous dreams, and it clicks. 

From the fourth dream onwards, the him in his past life— no, _lives_ — and the boy had figured out what was happening to them. 

Chenle furrows his brows in confusion. _Is this a new life?_ He blinks a few times, trying to rearrange his thoughts. 

"Chenle-ssi! We have to go!" He hears his manager call out. Oh. Right. He has a schedule today.

"I'm coming, hold on, please!" He shouts back, hurriedly putting on his shoes and rushing out of the door.

-

It's not until his fifteenth dream where he finally finds the identity of the boy.

They're in a battle, between humans and some… weird monster things. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices the boy, who's getting attacked by those monsters. He quickly shoots, and runs towards him, but it's too late, the boy is already dying. 

He knows he's crying in the dream, the tears making his eyesight blurry. He blinks it away, and his vision focuses on the boy. 

Wait a minute— he can see the boy's face. Every curve, every feature of it. The perfect, sharp nose, down to his square-ish jawline. The usually faceless boy _finally,_ has a face, and Chenle _knows_ him.

He wakes up with a start, panting heavily, heart pumping so hard it sends vibrations throughout his body. 

His phone rings right at that moment, becoming a light source for the dark room. Hands trembling, he picks it up. 

"Chenle," Jisung's voice crackles through the static, "can we meet right now?" 

-

"Those dreams… that was us, wasn't it?" Chenle asks Jisung immediately when he sees him. 

Jisung shuffles his feet. He sighs, letting a cloud of vapour come out of his mouth. "I think? I'm not sure, too." 

Chenle snuggles further into his thick padded jacket. They sit down on the plastic chairs in front of a convenience store. There's a silence that befalls them. 

"Even if it was us," Chenle takes a breath, "This is a new life, right? Nothing will change in between us," That's a lie. He desperately wants it to change. In a way that lets him press soft kisses to Jisung's lips under the orange sunsets.

"...What if I want it to?" Jisung whispers, just audible enough for Chenle to hear. 

He looks at Jisung, confusion in his mind, but hope in his heart. 

"I… I like you," Jisung confesses, looking down. 

Chenle's heart stops there. _WHAT_. He's filled with surprise and so much relief.

"Really?" He manages to breathe out. 

"Yeah," Jisung looks at him in the eye, and his eyes are glossy. 

Chenle reaches out to dab at the tears lining Jisung's eyes. "What are you crying for? I like you too." 

That's when the tears start pouring out. Chenle panics, thinking that he's said something wrong. "It's just— I'm so scared, yet so glad at the same time." Jisung chokes out. 

Chenle wraps his arm around Jisung's waist, pulling him into a hug. He pats Jisung's back, allowing him to cry into his shoulder. "There's nothing for you to be scared of. I'm here, aren't I?" 

Jisung makes a noise of affirmation. They sit there, huddled in the cold weather, opening their hearts. 

-

Being an idol is hard, Chenle knows this. There's so much stress and pressure from the company, and their fans, as well. But it's okay. He has Jisung, and Jisung has him.

Somewhere back in time, two boys fell in love under the ever-changing skies; somewhere in the future, two boys would meet time and time again, across the world, and into the galaxy. But in the present, it has only started, and their story continues on. 

Lifetime after lifetime, Chenle won't stop loving Jisung, and he knows Jisung would do the same. 

  
  


_The curtain closes, come on baby,_  
 _We can't forget all the joyous and precious memories,_ _(_ _you were always there)_ _I wish the time we had was continued everyday, if there was a miracle._

_-Dream Run_

**Author's Note:**

> this is a. Long mess,,,,, I did not expect it to be 23k but here we are
> 
> was this an excuse to write a ton of chenji aus? yes you're absolutely right
> 
> the formatting kinda killed me ngl


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